Speechless
by SirIsaacNewt
Summary: A new girl enters the glade. But when she can't talk to them, she has to find other ways to communicate. (Way better than it sounds, I promise). Initially set pre-TMR, eventual Newt/OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN-I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish my other story, but it generally follows the storyline of the books. Newt lives, of course, because we love him. This one WILL be finished, and I hope you enjoy. Reviews are welcome :)**

"It's a girl."

My eyes flickered open. Almost instantly, I was blinded by a bright light. I shielded my eyes as they adjusted and I sat up, blinking. I was in a structure that looked like a big metal box. It was filled with crates of supplies, some of them almost larger than I was. Then I thought back to why I had woken up and realized there was someone standing in front of me.

I shuffled back until I was against the wall (grate might've been a better term) and stood up, leaning back on it for support. One of the crates squealed. My eyes darted towards it, then the voice spoke again.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." I focused on the figure. The voice (English, I realized) belonged to a tall, blonde boy who was holding his hands up in surrender. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen and he was watching me carefully, as though he thought I was about to run. Or attack him. Or both.

"Yeah sweetheart, you come up here and we'll treat you real nice." Another voice called out. Whispers and laughter fell down from above me. Startled (and offended, but that was another problem), I looked up to see what must've been at least forty people gathered around the top of the box. None of them girls. I stared at them, looking for the one that had made the comment. I also felt like I was about to have a hardcore internal panic attack but they didn't need to know that. I could feel my breathing growing faster, frantic.

"Alright, like I said. I'm not here to hurt you, okay?" The blonde one repeated. I nodded, scared.

"No, but there are other things I wouldn't mind doing." A third voice rang out. The whispers grew louder. Then another voice.

"Everybody shut your damn holes! I hear that klunk again the slinthead that said it'll be going straight to the Slammer!" Another boy dropped down into the box. Then a third after him. Slinthead? Slammer? The second boy spoke up, running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Newt's right, Greenie." He said. Newt? The angry one or the British one? "We don't want to hurt you. We're gonna help you out of here and then we can explain some stuff, okay?"

The third boy just stared at me intensely. This would've been alarming by itself, but the hardened glare that was conveyed though his dark features made his expression all the more intimidating. I shrank back. Newt (it fit the blonde one better) noticed my reaction, then glanced back and winced.

"Alby, you're scaring her. Relax." He hissed. Newt then. The other boy, presumably Alby, frowned (which wasn't much different from his current expression) but thankfully toned down the glare. I bit my lip.

"First things first." The second one held out his hand. "My name's Nick. Welcome to day one, Greenie."

I stared at him. Realizing I wasn't going to be shaking his hand, he dropped it and crossed his arms.

"Come on." Using the crates as steps, Nick and Alby climbed out of the box. Nervously, I followed suit with Newt right behind me. I stood in the grass, feeling everyone else stare, every boy watching me closely.

"Get back to work, shanks!" Nick yelled. I winced. I had been standing right next to him. "Nothing to see here!"

"Greenie's plenty to see!" Someone called out. I recognized the voice, he had spoken before.

"Alex! Shut your hole or I'll cut your next break in half!" Nick shouted. "Same goes for the rest of you shanks!"

Fortunately, most of them drifted away. A few remained but I watched as the others retreated to different sections of the area, each one seeming to have its own purpose. Towering walls of concrete encased the field, with a huge gap in each side of the square of stone closing off the area. An exit. But if they were still here, whatever was beyond the walls must be bad. Really bad. Only one way to find out. I glanced at them, then sprinted for the opening.

"Runners!" I heard Nick yell. Three of the boys who had stayed chased after me, Newt included. The first one to catch up lunged at me and knocked me down. I shrieked as he slammed me to the ground, pinning me to the grass. I struggled, but he pulled me up by my arm and dragged me towards Newt and the other boy a few yards back.

"Sorry." The boy muttered. "Better dirt than death, princess."

I scowled at him. Nick and Alby joined the other two and walked over to us.

"Unless you have a death wish, Greenie, you don't wanna be going out there. Ever!" Nick commanded. I glared at the other boy; he was still gripping my arm.

Well, why the fuck not?

At least, that's what I'd tried to say. But by the start of the third word I realized there weren't any actual words being said. I stopped moving my mouth, confused. I bit my lip. Please don't tell me I can't talk. I know how to talk, this is ridiculous. The five of them looked as confused as I felt, and I felt like I was about to start hyperventilating.

"Can you...can you talk?" Nick frowned. "Minho, let go." The boy who had tackled me released my arm. I stepped away from him, upset.

I...I don't...

My lips moved wordlessly. How the hell was I supposed to survive around this many teenage boys without any communication? It was impossible.

"Great. That's just shucking great." Nick sighed. "Here, let's...we should..." He struggled.

"Alright, until we figure out what's going on...you're in the Slammer." Nick decided. "Newt, Minho. Make sure she gets there. Ben...just follow us."

Both Newt and the Asian boy who had tackled me nodded at Nick. So that was Minho. Making the other boy, another tall blonde, Ben.

"I'm putting you two in charge of the Greenie. Make sure nothing happens to her." Nick left with Ben and Alby and walked over to a structure towards the far end of the field. Minho grinned at me.

"Sorry about earlier." He apologized. "But you really shouldn't go in there."

Why? I mouthed.

"Why?" Newt asked, clarifying. I nodded. "It's a death sentence, Greenie. I'll show you around later, but for now...trust me, you're better off in here."

"Come on. Off to the Slammer."

I still didn't know what half of these words meant, but if Slammer meant what I thought it did this wasn't going to be pleasant.


	2. Chapter 2

A-B

Slammer, as I suspected, means jail. To be more accurate, it means a makeshift cell that I was rotting in for who knows how many hours until Newt finally came by with a sandwich and a sleeping bag. In all honesty, I probably could've opened the door myself but I didn't want to cause trouble. Newt handed over the food.

"Have you been alright in there?" He asked. I shrugged and took the sandwich. "Still not talking?"

I scowled at him. Newt chuckled.

"That's not very threatening, you know." Then he sobered. "To be honest, I think it was more to keep the rest of that lot away from you than to keep you locked up."

I bit my lip, then started eating the sandwich. God, I was starving.

"I figured you were hungry." Newt grinned. "It's later now. Why don't I show you where you'll be sleeping?" He held up the sleeping bag. I nodded and he gestured for me to come out. The door swung shut behind me.

"Follow me." Newt walked towards the building (and I use that term very, very loosely) that Nick, Ben, and Alby had gone towards earlier.

"This is the Homestead." Newt announced. "We...they ate already so they're about done. Settled in, and such."

I took in the surroundings. I could see everyone in the grass or in hammocks with their sleeping arrangements. I could hear whispering but it seemed like most of them were asleep.

"It's not much, but it's...something. The whole lot of us sleep over here." Newt handed me a sleeping bag.

"We'd have everyone in the Homestead but there's not much room. Most of us just sleep outside. It's not as though we get rain, so it doesn't matter much." I nodded.

I looked around, then frowned. I did not want to sleep here. Considering the things they'd said when I was awake, I didn't want to find out what would happen if I took a nap. No way I'm taking a chance on waking up to find someone else in my sleeping bag with me. Noticing a tower by the Deadheads, I turned and started to carry my sleeping bag away from the others. Newt grabbed my arm.

"Oi, where're you headin off to?" He questioned. I dropped my sleeping bag and pointed to the tower with my free arm. I didn't bother mouthing anything, it was dark enough he probably wouldn't have been able to make it out. Newt released my arm, but he shook his head all the same.

"What, the tower? You're not some bloody Rapunzel. That thing's barely got railings, you'll tip off the edge in your sleep. What's wrong with sleeping over here?" He stated. I pursed my lips, considering my options. Potential sleep rape or falling to my death? After a moment, Newt sighed.

"You know what, I can see where your concern is. How about for the night you just sleep with m-in my room. Sleep in my room. I've got an extra cot, anyways." He suggested. I considered this. One was better than forty.

"That sound alright, Greenie?" I nodded.

"Good that." Newt stated. He reached down and grabbed my sleeping bag.

"My room's this way. Well, your room too, I suppose."

We entered the Homestead and I followed Newt up the stairs. He led the way to a room on the left, then opened the door.

"Ladies first." He offered. Shyly, I entered the room. Newt stepped in behind me.

A cot stood towards the left side of the room, an extra one leaned against the wall. Next to it (among other things) were several stacks of crates. It looked like something was stamped on the side, but I didn't have enough light to read it. Newt walked over, set up the spare cot, then moved it away from the wall of crates and more towards the center of the room. He placed my sleeping bag on the cot then walked over to one of the boxes. Reaching into the top off the closest stack, he pulled out a backpack.

"It had a note the said it was for you, so...here." Newt held it out. I took it and placed it at the foot of the cot.

"Is this alright then?" He checked. I nodded.

"Good that." He stated. Again? Good that what? It was probably some other weird vocabulary thing they came up with. Honestly, I heard them earlier and what the hell even is a slinthead? Newt stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.

"Well, um...you'll be getting the tour tomorrow." He informed me. "You came sort of late. Best get some sleep." Again, I nodded. This is starting to piss me off. I need to try practicing talking or something, this isn't going to work. I sat at the edge of the cot and took my shoes off. Taking that as his cue, Newt did the same. Sitting down, his placed his shoes under his cot and laid down.

"Goodnight, Greenie." He yawned. He couldn't see me but I mouthed it anyway.

Goodnight


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I woke up to someone shaking me. Startled, I shot up and almost slammed into Newt, who stopped and backed off a bit. He straightened the pack he was wearing and I saw his hands were half hidden by leather gloves, something I could've sworn he didn't have on yesterday.

"Sorry, Greenie." He said sheepishly. "But I've got to show you something. Come on, get up." I scowled at him. Newt grinned.

"Oh, come off it. You'll like this. Probably." He practically dragged me out of bed. Albeit unwillingly, I followed Newt as he led me to the wall enclosing the Glade. I frowned. I was positive that yesterday there was a huge opening, but today there was just a massive wall of stone. As we got closer, I realized we were approaching a window embedded in the wall. We stopped and stood there, watching through the glass. I nudged him and he turned towards me.

 _What are we-_ I started to mouth.

"What are we waiting for?" He asked. I nodded. At least Newt could read lips.

"Just watch." He replied. I rolled my eyes, but continued to look through the window.

Suddenly something rounded the corner. I jumped back. Through the glass, I saw what was currently one of the most terrifying things in existence. It looked like a giant slug, but a countless number of metal appendages were stuck through its skin, along with a huge stinger shoved in between the spikes wedged beside what I could've sworn was a chainsaw. Whatever the hell it was, it looked it was made to kill in the most gruesome way possible. I turned to Newt, shocked. Newt had a grave look on his face.

"That, my dear Greenie, is a Griever. That's why, unless you're a Runner, you never leave the Glade. You'll get yourself killed...or something else will do it for you." He finished darkly.

Suddenly the walls started to move, the sound of grinding gears and concrete on concrete was practically deafening. I stumbled back, startled. Newt chuckled and checked his watch.

"Seven on the dot." He grinned. I couldn't do anything but stare at him in shock. Newt stared into the labyrinth of stone as it slowly revealed itself. "Remember this Greenie, the most important rule: don't go into the Maze." I nodded.

Maze.

Abruptly, a handful of boys raced past us. They ran into the maze, seeming to fan out in every possible direction. Confused, I looked to Newt for an answer. Understanding my expression, he launched into an explanation.

"Everyone's got to do their part around here. The Runners run the maze, trying to find a way out. We search every corner and corridor for an exit...it gets tiring after a while." He trailed off when he caught sight of another figure jogging towards the entrance. Ben. Ben saw me and frowned.

"I thought we had tomorrow off." Ben said, confused. Newt shook his head.

"I'm just showing her the walls." He replied. "Are you set?"

"I'm good. Come on, we gotta go." Ben answered. Newt turned to face me.

"I would be the one to show you around, but the Keeper slacking off wouldn't set a very good example now would it?" He grinned.

Keeper? Did that mean he was in charge?

"Find Nick, alright?" Newt told me. "Or Alby. One of them'll be sure and give you the tour. See you for dinner, Greenie." Newt and Ben ran off. I watched them disappear into the Maze. Feeling abandoned, I wandered off in search of Nick.

* * *

As promised, Nick was prepared to show me around. He didn't seem to be enjoying himself, but he scared me significantly less than Alby did. We walked around the area of the Glade. I listened as he told me about each section, how everyone needed to do their part. I watched as we walked around, taking it in. Unfortunately, everyone else in the whole damn Glade seemed to be watching me. Uncomfortable, I tried to focus on the tour.

There were four sections of the Glade. The Homestead, where everyone slept and ate and just hung out. The Blood house, where the animals were kept and killed. I wanted to ask how they got the animals, but I remained infuriatingly silent. Thankfully, this was solved when I remembered the squealing crates from the Box. Following that, the Deadheads; the woods where people were buried. I tried to ask Nick how they had died but he ignored me. Or he just can't read lips. Probably both.

The Gardens were by far my favorite. No loud noises, no blood, no dead people. Just harmless vegetables. That, and the boys who worked in the Gardens (Trackhoes, Nick told me) didn't stare at me as much as the rest of them did. Maybe helping things grow just made you more chill. Either that, or they weren't just growing vegetables. Nick marched towards the Maze as I followed closely behind him. We stopped in front of the East Door.

"Listen good, Greenie." Nick started gruffly. "We got three rules here. One, everyone does their part. No slacking off." I nodded. "Two, never harm another Glader. You got a problem with someone you just slim yourself, you hear?" Again, I nodded. "Three, never go into the Maze. Never. Got it?" He finished harshly. I nodded a third time, making sure he knew I was taking him seriously.

"On the first rule, you'll start trying out jobs soon. See what fits you." He studied me. "See what you can handle." I frowned.

"As for now, it's almost lunch. Everyone's busy." Nick stated. "I'm sticking you with Chuck until Newt gets back, go find him."

Who the hell is Chuck? I stopped him as he turned to leave. Nick sighed.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

 _Who's Chuck?_ I tried.

"Chuck?" Nick frowned. I nodded. "You'll find him. He's the only one here shorter than you." He smirked. I scowled.

"See you around, Greenie." Nick headed off. I sighed. Abandoned again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chuck. Where is Chuck.

I scanned the Glade, looking for "the only person shorter than me". And I wasn't that short. They're all really tall. Well, compared to me anyways. But I didn't have any other description of Chuck, so I was going on what Nick gave me.

Suddenly, someone ran past me. I jumped back. The boy sprinted away towards a tree, the one that had a platform at the top. The lookout. He hid behind it, then disappeared, presumably climbing a ladder to the top. You had to get up there somehow, I guess. But he was in a hell of a hurry.

"Greenie!" A voice shouted at me. I looked around for the source. A tall boy with dark hair marched towards me. I froze. His face was contorted into a snarl as he approached, and I glanced around the area nervously. No witnesses.

"Where is he?" He demanded. I stared at him. He glared back.

"Chuck." He spat. "Where'd that fat shank go running to?" So that was Chuck. Not wanting him to beat up the poor kid, which he was clearly thinking of doing, I pointed towards the Homestead. The boy grunted and stalked off towards the rickety shack of a building. He was gone, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I watched the dark haired boy enter the Homestead, then ran towards the lookout. If he came out again, I didn't want to be here when he got back. Reaching the tree, I found the ladder. As I'd suspected it was on the other side, hiding anyone who decided to climb it from the rest of the Gladers. Carefully, I climbed up and pushed on the wooden hatch at the top.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" An unexpectedly high voice defended itself. A short, chubby boy with brown curls of hair was holding up his hands in defense. His eyes were squeezed shut, like he was waiting to be attacked. Clearly, he was expecting the boy who had shouted at me. I snickered. I felt bad for the kid, but it was a little funny. Chuck (presumably) open his eyes cautiously.

"You're not Gally." He said, confused. I shook my head. Gally must've been the one looking for him. I'd heard the name before. According to the others, his reputation reflected his terrible personality. Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. Taking this as a good sign, I climbed the rest of the way out and shut the hatch behind me, sitting across from Chuck.

"You're the Greenie, aren't you?" He asked. That word again. I nodded. "I'm Chuck." I held out a hand. We shook.

"I like you." He decided. "We're gonna be friends." I smiled.

"Chuck!" Even at this height, I could hear Gallys voice booming across the Glade. Chuck's eyes widened in panic. Slowly, he leaned over and looked down into the Glade. I followed his example and saw Gally storming across the grass. Quickly, we leaned back out of sight.

"That's Gally." Chuck told me. "He's just mad cause I scared him." I raised an eyebrow. If that was true, Gally had a problem with overreactions. Chuck looked sheepish.

"Okay, I screamed through the window while he was in the bathroom." Chuck admitted, giggling. "His face was pretty funny. But I didn't know it was Gally in there. I would not have done that, he's gonna kill me." Chuck glanced over the side again and I followed suit. Gally had disappeared from sight.

"I think he's gone." Chuck whispered. I laughed quietly. He grinned. "See, you're fun. You laugh super easy. Nobody else likes my jokes." I frowned. Chuck was nice, why didn't the other boys like him? He saw my confusion.

"They all think I'm annoying cause I talk a lot." Chuck confessed. "You don't think that, do you?" I shook my head.

"Good. Cause we're gonna be buddies."

* * *

I sat with Chuck at dinner, despite the many other offers I'd gotten. If they weren't going to be nice to Chuck then I wasn't going to sit with them. And I couldn't leave Chuck all by himself, now could I? Gally's been glaring at both of us all through dinner, he's probably figured out I lied to him earlier. Wonder how long that took him.

"...and then you're supposed to try out for stuff. But I dunno if they're gonna make you try working with Winston, he's a Slicer. They're kinda creepy. I don't think girls like blood and all that stuff. You don't, do you?" Chuck finally stopped and took a breath. I'd been starting to get worried for him, he'd been talking for a while. I shook my head, agreeing with him. Chuck shoveled food into his mouth, practically inhaling the rest of his dinner.

"I didn't think you would." He said. He glanced at me pushing my food around. "You eat really slow, you know that?" I eat slow because I have actual table manners, I thought. I shrugged. Chuck stood up. "I'm gonna get more food." He walked back over and stood behind the other boys, all of them getting seconds or thirds. Impossibly, they hadn't run out of anything yet. I'd heard jokes about the cook, Frypan, but they were proven to be just that. His cooking was amazing.

The sound of the door banging open was louder than everyone's voices, leading most of us to look towards the door for the cause of the noise. Newt, Minho, and a handful of others I didn't recognize trudged to the line.

"Alright, I know y'all are gettin thirds, let em past." Frypan told the others. The boys who had just arrived (Runners, I realized), were allowed to go through at the front of the line to get their dinner. Newt and Minho sat down across from me. Chuck came back with Ben and they joined us at the table. Why did everyone want to sit next to me? I can't even talk, I can't be much fun to hang out with.

The Runners ate their dinner like it was their last meal, so fast I was afraid they'd end up eating their plates by mistake. Clearly none of them remember what manners are. Or what a fork is. I cringed as Minho ate his baked potato with his hands. He frowned.

"Wha?" His mouth was full of food. I winced and pushed my dinner around with my fork. "M hungry, okay?" He managed. Newt, who had somehow managed to eat like a civilized person but still inhale his dinner, chuckled.

"You get enough food there, shank?" He grinned at Minho. I smiled. Minho swallowed the rest of his potato.

"No, I did not." He declared. "If you'll excuse me." He stood and pushed away from the table, heading back to the line.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I promise I'm not suddenly changing the whole thing, I plan to switch back and forth but there'll probably be more of the girl because I don't want to misportray Newt. If you think I got something about him or any of the other characters wrong, just tell me.**

Newt POV

"No, I did not." Minho declared. "If you'll excuse me." He stood and pushed away from the table to get in line again. I followed him; I'd had the longest route today and I was bloody starving. We came back and Chuck was interrogating the girl again. Poor Greenie. She listened to him as she slowly ate her dinner. She didn't look like she'd eaten much, maybe she was still nervous. The Glade was a lot to take in in just a few days.

"...Cooks, Track-hoe's, and Builders. I don't think you'll be a Builder though. Gally's in charge of them. He doesn't seem like he's a fan of yours." Chuck decided. "Or mine."

"Gally's not really a fan of anyone." Ben put in. Greenie bit her lip, frowning. Chuck saw her face and giggled.

"It was worth it though, wasn't it?" He grinned. I raised an eyebrow.

"What was worth it?" I asked, concerned. She hadn't been here long and it sounded like Chuck had already gotten her in trouble. If anyone had it in them to hit a girl, it was Gally. I didn't want her getting hurt. It wasn't much fun watching Gally shout at Greenies and at the very least most of them could shout back. Or, they had the ability. Mostly they just resorted to violence, but I'd expect girls don't solve problems by hitting each other.

"Greenie here saved my life today." Chuck informed us, grinning at her. Confused, I looked towards the Greenie. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Alright, well, you saved me from getting beat up. It's close enough." Chuck corrected.

"Chuck, what did you do?" Minho raised an eyebrow. "Alby told you to slim it with the pranks, shank."

"Yeah, but you should've seen his face." Chuck defended, grinning. Ben groaned.

"Tell me you didn't." He said. "You gotta stop screaming at people in the bathroom, kid. It's not cool." Chuck looked disappointed.

"Of course it's not." I put in. "But you're just taking the mickey out of him for it because he got you last week." The girl bit her lip, like she was trying not to laugh. It was kind of cute, actually. I shook my head. Got to get rid

We finished dinner later then the others; we'd gotten there late and we'd been talking enough that we were nearly the last ones. We put our dishes back, then I went upstairs with the Greenie. I sat on the edge of my bed and started to take off my shoes as she sat down across from me.

"You have a good day, Greenie?" I asked. I dropped my shoes and they fell under the bed. She shrugged. "You're feeling chatty, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes and pulled her shoes off, then laid down on her bed. She thought better of it and shifted, pulling the blankets over herself. I smiled.

"Goodnight then."

Her eyes closed. Not long after, so did mine.

* * *

The next day, she was in the gardens. She'd been working for the better part of the morning, so far she seemed to be focused on the job. I think she liked the Gardens.

My day off was today and I'd been walking around with nothing to do. Alright, there were things to be done, I'm sure. But I didn't feel like working. Mostly I'd been taking laps and strolling casually by the Gardens. Not on purpose of course, I just happened to be in the area for no reason at all but there wasn't any harm in being friendly when I went past, now was there? I was halfway back again, near the Homestead and the Kitchen.

"Newt!" Frypan called out. I was pulled away from my thoughts.

"Mm? What?" I looked up. He was holding something.

"If you're gonna keep walking by there like a creep, at least bring them lunch." He said, shoving two plates into my hand.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Just take it over, shank." Frypan grinned. I sighed, but continued on and made it back around to the Gardens. I handed Zart, the Keeper, one of the plates. I don't know what the other Track-Hoes were doing, but none of them seemed to be around.

"Thanks, man." He nodded.

"Erm, where's the Greenie? I've got hers too." I told him. He pointed towards where she was kneeling and going through one of the rows of plants.

"Strawberries." He said, his words muffled from stuffing nearly the whole sandwich in his mouth. I nodded and walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned.

"Hungry?" I asked. I handed her lunch. She left off looking at the strawberries, then accepted it and sat down to eat.

 _Thanks_ she mouthed, grinning.

"Still quiet as ever, I see." I observed. She pursed her lips.

"Sorry." I offered. "Anyway, that's lunch. I've got today off this week so I figured I'd come by the gardens." And actually stop to talk this time. That, and I had their lunch. She nodded.

"I know that maybe you don't want to but, I don't suppose you've...are you sure you can't speak? I don't mind, personally. But it'd be really helpful if you could. It's Nick, mostly. And Alby, but I suppose that's to a...lesser...extent." I managed. She shook her head sadly. She looked miserable.

Well, it was my day off and I was going to do what I pleased. If she wasn't going to talk to me I might as well get her to listen. After all, I had been the one to upset her. It was only fitting that I fix it. I sat down next to her. Having finished her sandwich, she set the plate in the grass next to her and looked at me.

"Do you like being a girl?" I asked, changing the subject. She looked confused, then shrugged.

"Suppose it's not as nice being a girl here though." I commented. Bloody hell, I'm boring myself. Who knows how long it's been since I talked to a girl? I searched for something to talk about.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked suddenly. She smiled. She had a lovely smile. She pointed up.

"The sky? What, blue?" She nodded.

"Why blue?" I asked. She shrugged. Again, she pointed upwards.

"You like the sky? Well, we've got a lot of that here." I told her. She pointed to me.

 _What's yours?_ She mouthed.

"What's my favorite color?" She nodded, waiting for my answer. I looked into her eyes. Bright, vibrant green. A brilliant forest.

"Green." I answered.

 _Why_?

"Um...grass. I really like grass. Like...a lot. I-I'd marry it if I could, truly." I managed. I glanced at her. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. Oh, she's not getting out of this.

"I saw that. How dare you insult my one true love?" I frowned at her. I stroked the grass next to me. "Don't worry grass, I won't let her mock you like that."

She laughed. Just like that. It was soft, but coming from her it was practically resounding off the walls.

"You know, I reckon that's the first sound I've heard you make." I observed. "Well, that and that kind of shriek you gave off when Minho sort of tackled you the other day. But I don't think that counts, it was involuntary."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, unless you laughed on purpose to make me feel better about my own terrible jokes then I suppose that wasn't exactly voluntary either." I amended. "But you laughed because you thought it was funny."

She considered this, then shrugged.

"Excuse you, Greenie. I'm hilarious."

She smiled innocently, then tore up a handful of grass and threw it at me. I gasped.

"You murderer!" I exclaimed. "That was beautiful, innocent grass! What have you done to...you know what, I'll fix it myself." I started picking up the grass pieces one by one and putting them back in the spot where she'd torn them up. She burst out laughing. Then suddenly she stopped.

"Newt!" Zart's voice came from behind me. "Quit distracting the Greenie, she's supposed to be getting the strawberries."

I stood, then gave a hand to the Greenie and helped her up. Zart took her plate and gave both of them (hers and his) back to me.

"Sorry." I muttered. "I'll just...take these back then."

She waved at me as I walked back, then brushed the grass from her clothes and picked up where she left off.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks so much for everyone who's been reading this! Special thanks to my reviewers, your reviews are awesome! Sorry this chapters kinda short, but it's the length it needs to be. Enjoy!**

* * *

Kitchens today. I was still trying out everything, but nothing had really stuck yet. Now, everyone was eating dinner and I was on break until they finished. There weren't many people left, so I started to clean the tables off.

"Oi, have you eaten yet?" A voice called me over. I looked up at Newt and shrugged.

"It's a yes or no question, Greenie." I shook my head. I'd forgotten to. He motioned for me to sit down then pushed his dinner towards me. "Eat." I pushed it back, shaking my head. It was his, he was probably still hungry.

"You've seen us at dinner, this is my third." Newt pushed it back. "I doubt there's much left in the Kitchen. Eat."

I bit my lip, but reached over and took his fork. He grinned as I started eating.

"There we go." Newt said. It was quiet for little while. I was eating, he was staring off into space. Well, not really into space. Mostly he was staring at me. Not like everyone else was, though. It was more gentle. Counting Chuck, that's two people who don't stare at me like they want to-

"Have you remembered your name?" He asked suddenly. I frowned, but nodded. Of course I had, but I'd have to figure out the logistics out later. There wasn't a point if I couldn't tell anyone. Besides, everyone insisted on calling me Greenie, I was doubtful that would change until the next person came up.

"You did? What is it?" He grinned. I gave him a pointed look. He sighed.

"Right." There was silence for a moment. Then Newt's expression brightened.

"What if I can guess it?" He asked. I grinned. "Alright, I'll take that as a yes. Let's do this." I nodded. He studied my face, like my name would be hidden somewhere in my appearance. I bit my lip, feeling slightly self conscious, and pushed the remaining vegetables around with my fork.

"And suddenly I can't think of a single possible name." He muttered. Then he brightened slightly. "I'll just start with letters then."

"A?" He asked. I shook my head.

"B?" Again, no.

"C?" I sighed. This was going to take forever. He saw my expression.

"What, is it at the end?" Newt questioned. Grinning, I nodded.

"Right. I'll have to go backwards then." He decided. "It's not w, x, y, or z, is it?" I shook my head. I waited while he tried to figure out the next letter. His lips moved and I could tell he was singing the song in his head. I snickered.

"Oi, don't do that. Now I've got to start over." He complained. "Like you could sing the alphabet backwards."

"Is it V? Or U?" I shook my head.

"T? S?" I grinned and nodded. He grinned back.

"T?" I shook my head for what felt like the hundredth time. "S then."

"Sarah?" No. "Susan?" No. "Savannah?" No. "Sophie?" No. Slightly frustrated (and he wasn't the only one), he sighed. He'd get there eventually.

"I'm this close and I can't think of a single bloody girls name." Newt frowned. Smiling, I shook my head. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean, no?" He asked. "I'm not close?" I did nothing, not wanting to confuse him. Thankfully, he moved on. "Not a girls name?" Yes.

"What, like...like Dylan, or Jamie, or something?" Yes.

"Got it. Not girl names that start with s." Newt stated. "How many letters?" I held up three fingers.

"Three. Three letters, not a girls name, starts with-Sam? That's an s, is that it?" Newt smiled. I nodded, beaming.

"Sam." He repeated softly. "It suits you."

"Lovely to meet you, Sam." He held out his hand. After understanding what he wanted, I took it and he shook them.

"Lovely."

"You good out there, Greenie?" Frypan called. I let go of Newts hand. Realizing I should get back to work, I stood and took the empty plate. I looked around. The others had left; just us two now.

"Didn't mean to keep you from your work." Newt said sheepishly. "Again. Sam." I smiled.

"Here, I'll take that. It's mine." Newt stood and took the dishes from me. I scowled and went to take them back, protesting. He waved me off.

"I've got it." He said, reading my expression. "Just finish the tables, Sam."


	7. Chapter 7

Builders. It felt like I'd been trying out forever. Newt had assured me it was almost over, but this one couldn't be over faster. Practically everyone Gally was friends with shared his disgusting personality. One of them, one I didn't recognize yet, had pretended to trip and practically slammed himself into me, using it as an excuse to put his hands places he shouldn't. "For support", my ass. Literally, I might add.

Gally groaned and marched over to where I was sawing. He grabbed my arm and stopped me. I scowled at him.

"That's not how you do it, give it to me." He scowled back, jerking the saw away from me.

"Like this." His movements were slow and deliberate and obviously condescending, but he did it perfectly. He shoved it back into my hands. I repositioned myself to finish the board but he took it away again.

"Okay." Gally said gruffly. "You're obviously not gonna work here, so I'll make this easier for both of us. Go get more wood and I'll fix this by myself. Do you understand?" That was something else I didn't like. He assumed that because I couldn't talk I was an idiot, that I didn't hear them talking about me.

"Do you?" He repeated. I tried to make my thumbs up as sarcastic as possible, then stormed off into the Deadheads. God, I wish we had pencils. Or pens. Or something. At least then I could curse him out on paper. Which we also didn't fucking have. Either that or nobody bothered to tell me we had it, which would be a dick move.

I stopped when I came to a clearing, taking a minute to calm down. When I figure out how to talk, I'm going to curse those fuckers out so bad...I just need to calm down. Trees. The trees were peaceful. There we go...calm...relax. It was quiet here. I started looking around for decent branches. I'll show him, I'll bring back the best fucking wood he's ever seen. I'll bring back a whole damn tree if I have to.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Surprised, I turned. Alex was grinning wolfishly at me. Alex who had yelled at me on the first day. Alex who had been harassing me all week. Alex who had slammed into me and practically assaulted me.

"It's dangerous." He walked closer. Yeah, now that you're here. And I didn't like his tone. I edged back slightly, back towards the Builders. Gally was a dick, but he was better than Alex.

"Oh come on, what are you moving away for?" He asked. "I'm just trying to be nice."

I watched him carefully, looking for any sign of...well, to be honest I didn't like him and being alone with him was making me nervous. In fact, nobody likes him. I'm surprised he isn't dead yet, it's truly an enigma. Alex kept moving forward.

"But you don't like me, do you?" He asked, his eyes dark. I started backing up but he moved with me, moved faster. He was close enough to touch me. Alex grabbed my arm. "Well, I think we can change that."

"Being nice is overrated, anyways." Alex decided. I struggled to get him off me, something I'd been working towards as soon as he touched me, but he was stronger than I was. Much stronger. He gripped my other arm and stepped forward, making me walk backwards as I tried not to trip over his shoes.

"You know what, I'll make a little deal." Alex pushed me against a tree. I winced at the impact. His face was dangerously close to mine. I looked away, and he scowled. His legs and his other arm still pressing me to the tree, Alex moved his hand and roughly turned my face back towards his.

"Are you listening?" He asked, keeping my head in place. Not seeing any other choice, I nodded. Or at least, I tried to.

"Good girl. I'll tell you what. You tell me to stop, and I'll back off." He reasoned. I fought the urge to spit in his face.

 _Get the fuck off of me._ Imouthed.

"Oh see, that's not what I meant." Alex chuckled. "But I like to think I'm reasonable. Just... _say the word._ And I'll leave you alone."

Fuck. He couldn't possibly expect me to-I couldn't! I have been trying! I literally can't! But I was laughing the other day. If I can do that, maybe I can scream.

"What was that?" He asked. "Did you say something? No?" His hand still gripping my jaw, he shook my head for me. I tried unsuccessfully to wrench myself out of his grip but it only tightened.

"Not even one little word? Oh, that's too bad." Alex smirked. Then he lurched forward and shoved his tongue down my throat. His hands moved to press my wrists against the tree, holding both of them above me with one hand. Alex clamped his other hand on my hip, and as he pushed the hem of my shirt up I felt his nails dig into my skin. Scream!

Come on, do it. He'll have to breathe eventually, scream! Yell! Do something! Alex pulled back for a brief second, still practically two inches away from my face. Do it now!

"I've got to say, I didn't think you'd be this-"

Then I screamed. Alex stumbled back in surprise. I shoved him off and ran towards the edge of the trees. Without warning, I was slammed to the ground. I screamed again, hoping this time it would be louder.

"Shut up, you bitch!" Alex grabbed my hands. I struggled but Alex weighed a lot more than I did. He sneered, grabbing my wrists and pressing me into the ground.. Suddenly, there a loud clang. Suddenly he was off me. I shut my eyes. I heard another clang. Alex had been hit with something. Twice. I tried to calm my breathing. Then, slowly, I opened my eyes.

* * *

Newt pov

"So anyways, we're trying to make a sort of divider." Gally explained. "It wouldn't be this difficult, but we don't have any hinges. The wood's not exactly the best quality either."

"What did you have the Greenie doing?" Nick asked. I looked at Gally.

"Where is she?" I asked, glancing around the area. Gally looked irritated.

"Greenie's not meant to be a Builder, shank. I gave up on her. I had her go get more wood but she was taking forever so I sent over-"

A scream pierced air. A very high pitched scream. We froze.

"Alex." Gally finished. Horrified, we looked towards the Deadheads.

"You don't think that was..." I started.

"Go." Nick said. Instantly, the three of us ran into the woods.

"Which direction did it come from?" I yelled. Gally glared.

"Like that's the first thing you-"

Another scream rang out, seeming to echo through all the trees.

"This way!" Nick called out. We burst into a clearing to find Alex on top of Sam, pinning her to the ground. I grabbed Gally's shovel and swung it at Alex. Then hit him again for good measure. Poor girl looked like she was practically having a panic attack. Within reason, I would say.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing quick and uneven. Slowly, Sam opened her eyes. I handed Gally his shovel back. Realizing it was us, Sam tried to stand up and almost fell over in the process. I moved forward, but she steadied herself.

"Are you...did he manage to..." I struggled to find the words. I was incredibly angry at Alex, but I didn't want to scare Sam by directing my anger at her. Sam shook her head, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Nick stepped forward to address her. She watched him cautiously.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully. She didn't respond. Nick frowned.

"We're going to the MedJacks. Newt, Gally, take Alex." I nodded. Nick reached forward to grab her arm. She automatically stepped back, obviously scared of someone touching her, but nearly tripped. Nick caught her before she fell over.

"Sorry." He muttered. He led her out of the woods. Gally and I followed, dragging Alex with us. He woke up when we let his head hit a rock. Startled, Alex lashed out and we grabbed his arms. Then we pulled him along towards the Medtent, ignoring his resistance. I don't know where he thought he could run off too, it's not as though there were many options.


	8. Chapter 8

Nick led me into the Medtent. Newt and Gally followed us, dragging Alex through the flaps of the tent. At Nicks direction, I took a seat on one of the cots. Gally shoved Alex down next to me. Instantly, I moved away from him to the opposite end. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Explain, Alex." Nick barked at him. "Now."

Alex looked down, then glanced over at me. He was nervous. Sick bastard.

"Well I was...I was getting wood, you know. We both were...and then we were talking...and...and out of nowhere she just jumps me! And at first I'm like...you know...but then I start responding-for-for her benefit...and then right when I do she pushes me off and runs away yelling bloody murder! Wh-what am I supposed to do with that?" Alex finished. I was furious.

Throughout his speech I felt more and more anger building up. That lying bastard! What kind of sick fuck would believe that story? How am I supposed to counter that without even being able to-

"Your turn, Greenie. You ready?" Nick said. His voice was softer, which didn't help. He didn't mean it, but it seemed condescending and at this point I was nearly ready to explode.

 _That's not what happened! It's not my fault, you have to underst-_

"Stop! Stop." Gally grabbed my wrists. I froze. "What are you doing with your hands?" He demanded.

 _What do you-_

My hands jerked. Gally let go of my wrists and looked at me, crossing his arms. I looked down. I had been moving my hands while I was talking. But it wasn't like gesturing, it was like...I couldn't remember the right words, but...

"Do you know the...the hand thing-signing-can you do that?" Newt asked. "The signing language?" I frowned. Now that he'd mentioned it, I felt like I could. I just hadn't considered it before. Did I have a way of...could I talk to them? Well, it wouldn't really be talking, but...

"It doesn't matter what she can do if we can't understand her. She'll be just as useless as before." Gally argued. "Sign something."

Alright, you can do this. Think of the words. See the words. Come on. Just say something.

" _Something_." I signed. Creative. Newt stared at me. He looked like he was about to say something, but then Gally spoke up before he could get a word in.

"Well, what the hell does that mean? You see? Useless, just like I told you." He remarked. Nick frowned.

" _Screw you_."

Gally rolled his eyes.

"Oh, that wasn't very nice." Newt managed. Gally, Nick, and I stared at him. Alex just looked panicked.

"What do you mean?" Nick questioned him. "What did she say?"

"Oh, I'm not repeating it." Newt chuckled. "It wasn't very polite."

"All I got was you." Gally said.

"Same here. But you can understand all of the...gesturing...thing?" Nick clarified. I watched Newt, who blinked, surprised.

"What, can't you?" He asked. They shook their heads. He looked back at me.

"I mean, that first word was...something." Newt made the sign with his hands as he said the word. "You're just bloody sarcastic, aren't you?" I stared at him.

"Looks like it's your lucky day, Greenie. You've got yourself a translator." Nick said, glancing at Alex. "So, you two...what exactly did he do?"

I told him, still getting used to it and stumbling over some of the words. By the end Alex looked like he was suffering a heart attack. I don't think he understood, but he wasn't looking at me. Newt looked ready to murder him.

Newt moved Nick and Gally to the side and away from Alex as he quietly repeated what I'd explained to them. I watched them apprehensively. Alex was fidgeting. He kept turning to glare at me, then quickly looking away when he saw one of them look back at us. I tried to edge farther away from him. Finally the three of them moved back towards us, turning on Alex.

"I have my way and you'll be sleeping with the Grievers by sundown." Newt finished. angrily. "Nick?"

Nick looked at Newt, then Alex, then me. I held my breath, unsure of what I wanted his decision to be.

"Sundown." Nick said solemnly. "Gally...put him in the Slammer." Gally stepped forward just as Alex turned and ran. Well, he tried. He managed about two feet before Gally grabbed his arm and yanked him back. I watched them cautiously.

"Move it, slinthead." He dragged him out. Nick looked between the two of us, then settled on me.

"Some shuck tries to pull something like that again, you scream as loud as you can and you run to one of us. Me, Alby, Newt, even Gally. Understand?" He said firmly. I nodded. He looked at Newt.

"Newt, you're in charge of Sam." He announced. "Make sure she's okay. I've got to talk to Alby. I'll see you two at the Doors."

Nick left the tent. I bit my lip, worried.

" _Sleep with the Grievers?_ " I signed. Newt's face hardened.

"It means a Banishing."

It didn't take a genius to figure out where Alex would be banished to. I couldn't say I agreed with the concept but I didn't want to find out what would happen if everyone else thought they could...but I didn't want to think about it. We left the tent. I was about to head upstairs to my room when Newt stopped me.

"Wait!" He called. "You're sure you'll be alright?" He checked. I bit my lip.

" _I'm fine_."

"I know that's not true. But I doubt I'll be getting anything else." He turned to walk away. I turned and started to go to the room.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He grabbed my arm. I jumped, surprised.

"I'm sorry." He frowned and let go, but didn't move back. "I meant to just...how do you spell your name? Like, with the letters."

" _S-a-m_ "

"And mine?" Newt grinned.

" _You know the words_." I gave him a pointed look.

"That might be true, but what if I don't know the alphabet?" He defended.

" _That seems unlikely._ "

"But..." He encouraged, leaning closer. I sighed.

" _N-e-w-t_."

"There we go. Why don't we get some dinner?" He suggested. "Take your mind off things." I shook my head. Newt frowned.

"If you're sure. Are you sure you're alri-no. No, of course you're not. Do you feel...better than earlier?" He tried. I looked at my hands. I shrugged.

"It won't happen again." He promised. "I'll make sure of it."

" _Thank you._ "

"Are you sure you don't...I don't know, need anything, or-"

I hugged him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He seemed surprised, then he wrapped his arms around my waist. After a moment I composed myself and let go, embarrassed.

" _Sorry_." I apologized. He shook his head.

"Don't be sorry. You've had to deal with a lot today." He said kindly. "I'm going for dinner, are you coming?" I shook my head.

"If you're sure. Good night, Sam."

" _Goodnight_."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:I know it's kind of short, but I couldn't stretch it out and I think it's pretty good. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Newt POV

I was worried about Sam. She didn't come to dinner, she was probably scared of more than half the guys here and when I got back she was already asleep and it wasn't even eight o'clock yet. She might've been faking, but if she was I'm sure she just wanted to be alone. Part of me felt guilty she had to share a room with me. And that I hadn't found her sooner when she'd...but she was...he wouldn't bother her again.

I glanced over at her. Sam was still...still. Unmoving, that is. Not seeing another option, I went to sleep.

I woke up to a loud thud and a groan from the other cot. I opened my eyes and squinted at my watch. One thirty. I looked over to see Sam sitting up holding her wrist, glaring at the table between our beds. Slowly, I sat up.

"You alright?" I managed. She cringed. "Oh, here." I reached over and turned on the light. Both of us winced, reflexively closing our eyes as the light filled the room. After a moment I adjusted and opened my eyes.

"What happened?" I asked. Sam frowned at her wrist, then mimed banging it into the table.

" _Sorry_." She apologized.

"You did that in your sleep?" I raised an eyebrow. Sam looked away, upset. I frowned.

"You were having a nightmare, weren't you." I said softly. It wasn't a question. Sam bit her lip and shrugged.

" _It's over_." She signed. " _Doesn't matter._ " Sam reached over to turn the light off, but stopped when I stood up and came over to her. She pulled her hand back and shifted when I sat down on her bed. Sam gave me a confused look.

"You don't look like you want to talk about it and I don't want to wake up again. Seems to me you need a barrier between you and that evil table of ours." I suggested. Sam looked like she was about to protest, then she sighed. She also looked she was about to fall back asleep in the next few seconds.

Sam moved over and pulled the blanket to the side. I laid next to her and she threw the blanket back over us, then reached over me. I moved my arms out of the way as she turned off the light. Sam, already half way gone, pulled my left arm closer to her and hugged it like a teddy bear. Carefully, I moved my other arm and pulled the blanket up past her shoulders. She was soft and warm. I smiled slightly. Sam was cute when she was sleeping.

"Night, love." I mumbled.

* * *

"Awww, aren't you two just adorable."

I winced as light poured into the room from the open door. Minho smirked.

"God, I wish they'd sent us cameras." I glanced down. Sam was still asleep, her head in the crook of my neck. Her arms were draped across my chest, practically around my neck. My arms were wrapped around her, holding her against me. And Minho was staring from the doorway.

"Aren't you two a happy couple?" He grinned. "When's the honeymoon?"

"She's asleep." I whispered to Minho. "Bugger off, would you?"

"You've got like five minutes, man." Minho said. "Get dressed."

"I am dressed." I protested.

"Yeah, right." Minho left, still grinning. The door slammed behind him. Sam stirred. Reluctantly, I let go of her and she rolled over but held onto my arm. I sighed.

"Sam." I nudged her and started easing my arm away. Her eyes slowly blinked open. "Come on love, get up." She let go of me and pushed herself into a sitting position. Sam ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face.

" _Morning_." She signed. I think. But it made sense, so I didn't question it.

"It's jobs now, come on." I swung my legs off the bed and shoved my shoes on. Sam made to follow suit, then thought better of it, groaned, and collapsed back onto the bed. I chuckled.

"You'll feel more awake after breakfast, I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

I'm not allowed to be a MedJack. Not because I was terrible, I was actually alright. It was because people kept coming in with fake injuries so they could see me. Then, when Jeff found out and put a stop to it, they started giving themselves real injuries. Nothing major, but we don't have an unlimited supply of bandages. I was excused some time after lunch to prevent the appearance of more sliced and splintered fingers. There's no way Winston cut himself that many times, not on accident.

I stood by the entrance to the Maze, waiting for the runners. They'd be back soon, it was almost dinner. Chuck had teased me about waiting for "my boyfriend", but he didn't say who and refused to elaborate. I'd been getting friendlier with Chuck. I'd helped him out with his cleaning after I left the Medtent and had been walking around with him until he went to get his dinner. He was adorable and did enough talking for both of us, so I was happy to help him.

The first two runners, Greg and Andrew, I think, ran past me to a hut near the Homestead. The Map Room, I remembered. I walked towards it, and more Runners ran past me as I drew closer. I sat in the grass a distance away from it, close enough to see who had returned but far enough away I didn't get in trouble.

Ben ran past me. It was a wonder they all fit. Newt was next to last, Minho close behind him. The grinding gears of the Doors began to echo through the Glade. I winced as the Doors shut, the towering stone walls slamming together.

By the time they came out, dinner had just started. Slowly, the Runners trickled out of the Map Room. Newt and Minho were last. They stopped, looking down at me.

"Have you eaten?" Newt asked, frowning. I shook my head and stood up.

" _I was waiting_." I told them.

"What, for us?" Newt raised an eyebrow. Minho snorted.

"Us." He scoffed.

"What does that mean?" I frowned. Minho grinned. He looked exhausted from his run, but he still grinned. Even though he was breathing heavier than normal. So were Newt and the others, truth be told. Must've been a long day.

"You're hilarious." Minho said. "Come on, we should get to dinner. We don't hurry, there might not be any left." I looked at Newt, who was glancing towards where the others were eating their dinner.

" _Go_." I nudged him. " _I'm gonna bother Minho_." Newt looked suspiciously between the two of us, but headed off just the same. His stomach had won him over.

"You're gonna what me?" Minho winked. I scowled at him.

" _Why are you being so weird_?" I asked. Minho glanced over my shoulder, watching as Newt walked through the door.

"You think I haven't noticed?" He waggled his eyebrows. "You, my lady, have a crush. It's cute, really."

" _On who_?" I asked. I don't have a crush on anyone. I don't think I do. Do I? No, definitely not.

"Newt, duh." Minho sighed. Fuck. "I don't know why you'd want the Queen of England when you could have this," he gestured to himself. I rolled my eyes "but ladies choice, princess."

" _I do not have a crush on him_." I protested.

"Sure you don't." Minho smirked. "It's the accent, isn't it? It's not because he's a Runner, if that was it you'd have a crush on me." I raised an eyebrow.

" _Why's that_?" I asked. Minho looked offended.

"I'm faster." He stated. "Obviously."

" _You were last today._ " I reminded him. " _And you're exhausted_."

"Last one, fast one." He said, which made literally no sense. "Besides, I could still kick your tiny ass."

" _Not today, you couldn't_." I shot back.

"Please. I'd bet even after a day in the Maze I'm still faster than you, Greenie." He insisted. "And anyone else."

" _I don't know, a second ago you seemed pretty tired_." I observed. He looked confused. More of a mock, exaggerated confused, but still. Over dramatically indignant might have been better.

"What, you think you could beat me?" Minho boasted.

" _Out run a Runner? Definitely._ " I rolled my eyes. I felt like I could run pretty fast, but there was still a chance Minho would beat me. He did take me down that first day.

"Why don't we make a bet then?" He said. I shrugged. I didn't have anything else to do. Besides, maybe I could win.

"We'll race. From the Homestead to the Maze wall. If I win, I get a kiss. Lips, not cheek. I'm not leaving that loophole out there." I raised an eyebrow.

" _Fine. But if I win, you kiss G-a-l-l-y. The next time you see him, no procrastinating_." I told him. Minho looked completely disgusted.

"I must've gotten that wrong, you want me to kiss Gally?" Minho clarified, incredulous. "Gally? He'd kill me!"

" _Afraid you'll lose?_ " I suggested. Minho pursed his lips. He sized me up, then smirked.

"I'm not worried." He decided. "I'm winning this thing. Let's go, princess." We headed over to the Homestead, then stationed ourselves in front of the door.

"Ready," he started. "Set...go!"

We sprinted. I slowed, but not enough that he would be too far ahead of me. Just enough. He reached the wall a decent amount of time before I did, practically slamming into it from the speed he'd been running at. I reached the wall and we leaned against it, taking a minute to calm down. I took longer than him, breathed heavier. Minho grinned.

"I do believe I've won this round, sweetheart." He smirked. I winced.

" _Don't. G-a-l-l-y calls me that_." I signed.

"I missed that last part. Doesn't matter though, it looks like I won't be hearing anything from Gally." Minho grinned.

" _Don't act like you won the lottery_." I frowned. So did Minho.

"Like I what?" He asked. I groaned.

" _L-o-t-t-e-r-y_." I spelled, exasperated. God, I missed talking with Newt. He almost never missed anything.

"Oh. Now, about that kiss." He leaned forward, then I kissed him. Chastely. Then I pulled away. Minho grinned.

"Why thank you, milady. Now, if you'll excuse me we should be-"

" _Wait_." I reached out and stopped him.

"What?" He whined. "I'm hungry."

" _Do over. Rematch_." I told him. Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Well Princess, the heart wants what the heart wants." He winked. I rolled my eyes. "Who am I to deprive you of my kissing abilities?" He brushed his shirt off.

"First one to the Homestead?" Minho remarked. I nodded. "On three."

"One." I took a deep breath. "Two." I'm so winning this. "Three!"

He darted ahead but I raced after him, advancing. I passed him and he sped up, suddenly realizing I wasn't as slow as he'd thought. I was just in front of him, then I surged forward. Unable to stop, I fell into the door of the Homestead. I shrieked, banging the door open and crashing to the ground. I rolled over onto my back, trying to catch my breath.

"Shuck!"

Less than half a second later, Minho crashed through. He tripped on my feet and practically fell on top of me. I shoved him off and he fell next to me, panting. I could feel everyone staring at us. It was the middle of dinner, after all. We didn't try to get up. We were still working on catching our breath.

"You're blocking the door, shanks."

I looked up. Gally towered over us. Oh, Minho's gonna kill me. If he survives, that is.

"Fuck." Minho muttered. I stood, dusted myself off, and held out a hand for Moinho. He stood by himself and I dropped my hand, grinning.

I looked at Minho.

"You cheated." He grimaced. I shook my head. Gally frowned.

"So are you gonna move, or will I have to-"

"Well folks it's been a pleasure knowing you," Minho announced to his audience. "But I must bid you farewell." He clasped a hand on Gally's shoulder. Gally stood there, aiming a confused frown at the hand on his shoulder. He tried to shrug him off.

"Goodbye." Minho saluted me.

"What-" Then Minho cut him off and yanked Gally's head forward and kissed him. As soon as he realized what Minho was doing, Gally shoved him off. Minho ran out at breakneck speed. Gally furiously wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Gally roared. He chased after him and the other boys, after they had gotten over their shock, erupted into laughter. I started to head to a table. Newt was frowning, but he smiled when I started to walk over. Then Nick walked through the door and the laughter quieted down.

"Sam." He called out, walking up to me. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I froze. "Can I borrow you for a second?" I could hear some of the boys snickering. Nick left, making it clear I didn't have a choice but to follow. We walked out the door to a tree a good distance away. He stopped.

"What were you doing with Minho?" Nick asked. I bit my lip.

" _We were just having fun, I'm sorry I distrac-_ " He cut me off.

"No. Specifically. Because it looked to me like you just out-raced one of my best Runners." Nick stated. He smirked. I frowned.

 _"Well, yes, but I'm sorry, I wasn't-"_

"Don't be sorry. You're done trying out for jobs." Oh god, were they going to kill me? He was going to kill me. At the very least, he was going to-

"Congratulations, Greenie." Nick held out his hand. "You're our newest Runner."

That's almost worse.

I stared at him. Seeing I wasn't going to be shaking his hand anytime soon, Nick clapped me on the shoulder.

"Let's get some dinner in you, Sam." He guided me back through the door. I sat down next to Newt, Nick and Alby across from us. Some of the other boys were still snickering, probably at how terrified I looked. Newt frowned.

"You alright, Sam?" He asked. I nodded.

"Don't feel nervous, you get the job you're best at." Nick said through a mouthful of food. "You'll do fine."

"You got your job?" Newt asked, surprised. I looked at Nick, who nodded.

" _Runner_." I signed. Newt looked shocked.

"You want to put her in the Maze? Nick, you can't be serious." He stated. "It-It's too dangerous and we haven't got the right numbers. She can't run alone."

"I'll put her with Minho then. He's got the biggest section." Nick decided.

"But-"

"She'll go with you tomorrow. You're Keeper, she should still try out." Nick cut in. "Just make sure she doesn't die like that last kid."

I felt the color drain from my face. Newt was still upset.

"Nick, you can't-"

"Drop it." Nick cut him off. "She's going."

Newt sighed. Both of them looked over at me. I frowned.

" _What_?" I asked.

"Nothing." Newt muttered. Nick pushed a plate towards me.

"Eat." He commanded. "You'll need it."


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up to an alarm. Cringing at the noise, I looked over. Newt rolled out of bed and shoved his shoes on, his watch still beeping. He shut it off, then glanced over at me.

"Good, you're up." He said. "We've got breakfast." I groaned.

"I know." He muttered. "Don't make me drag you, come on."

After getting ready, we ate breakfast in a rush then went to the Map room. Newt walked to the back of the room, unlocked a trunk and started handing me different things he'd pulled from it. Gloves, backpack, water bottle. Then a knife. I frowned and set everything down.

I held up the knife and raised an eyebrow, looking at him. It was a moment before he answered.

"Protection." Newt said grimly, tucking his own knife into his belt. He reached into another trunk, then paused.

"What shoe size are you?" He asked. I held up nine fingers. He glanced at my feet, then his.

"You can't be a nine. I'm a nine." Newt frowned.

" _Girls shoes are smaller_."

"But that doesn't..." Newt sighed. "Here, take these." He pulled out a box and handed it to me. "That's a six, try that." I sat down and pulled them on. Almost. I handed them back.

"What, too big?" He asked. I shook my head. "Alright, give em here then." I handed them back and Newt dug out another pair.

"Seven." They fit.

"Thank god." He grinned. "I knew my feet weren't that small." I rolled my eyes and laced up the shoes. They fit strangely, but they weren't too big. It wouldn't be good to trip, not out there.

He geared up with all his supplies and had me do the same, then we headed for the doors. The other Runners stood in a group by the entrance, waiting for the doors to open. They watched me, suspicious. From what I'd heard, not a lot of people tried out to be Runners. Minho walked over to us.

"Big day, Princess." He grinned. "You all geared up?" I shrugged. I bit my lip in worry. Minho frowned.

"You'll be fine, okay?" He said seriously. "You'll do great. Right Newt?" Newt was staring at the doors. Minho nudged him and he looked towards us, then the sound of grinding gears filled the air. The doors were opening. Minho went back to Ben and everyone started sprinting through, each of them disappearing and making different turns as they raced off. Newt and I were last.

"You ready?" He asked. I nodded. With that, we left the safety of the Glade.

* * *

I didn't know how long we'd been running. I followed his lead as we raced around corners, slashing vines down from the wall as we went. Our own trail of bread crumbs. I frowned at my confusing memories. Sure, Hansel and Gretel are okay, but not my own family. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I had to focus. Neither of us wanted to get lost in the Maze. Nobody did.

It was twisting and turning. Left, then right, then right again, then left again. This far in, I couldn't have found the way back if I'd wanted to. And I needed to. This place seemed so much bigger from this side of the wall; the maze appeared to go on forever. Maybe it did.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (and probably was), we stopped to rest. The two of us sat down against a wall, taking lunch out of our bags. I tapped Newt on the shoulder and he looked up from his sandwich.

" _How am I doing_?" I asked nervously. He frowned.

"You're alright." He replied, almost immediately going back to his sandwich. I tapped him again.

" _What did I do_?" I asked. He sighed.

"Sorry, I just...could you stop that?" He asked. I looked at him, confused.

" _Stop what_?" I questioned. " _Stop eating_?"

"Quit biting your lip." He responded, taking a drink of water.

" _What? Why?_ " I protested. He froze.

"I...it was...bothering me." He managed. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Newt pursed his lips.

"What? I-I can't be concerned? You keep doing that you'll...you'll break the skin eventually." Newt stammered.

 _"That's what you're going with_?"

"Was there something wrong with my answer?"

" _Oh_ _no_ , _not_ _all_." I teased.

"See, I'm getting the feeling that was sarcastic." Newt said. I laughed.

"Go on, eat." He urged. "We've still got a long way to go." I sighed.

" _How_ _am_ _I_ _doing_?" I repeated. " _Really_?"

"You're doing alright." He admitted. "You're focused, you don't look like you're about to keel over...you haven't died yet, which is a plus." I chuckled. He gave a small grin and started shoving everything back into his pack. He was about to stand up when I noticed something in his bag. I reached into and he stopped, sitting back down.

"What?"

" _You_ _have_ _a_ _notebook_?" I grabbed it from him. He frowned.

"Yeah, why-" he stopped. Understanding, his mouth dropped open. I scowled at him. Newt, to his credit, looked horrified.

"Oh my god." He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Yes. And a pencil. And bunch of other bloody things that every Runner has that no one else ever needs so nobody bloody thought of it."

 _"Are you kidding me?"_ I glared _. "There's like ten of you. Meaning you have at least ten of these. Meaning at least ten of you weren't smart enough to figure out that, hey, I might need one."_

"I am so, so sorry. Bloody-I can't believe how stupid that is. That literally never occurred to me." Newt apologized. I groaned.

" _As soon as we_ _get_ _back_ , _you're_ _getting_ _me_ _one_." I insisted. He nodded quickly.

"Yes. Definitely. Bad move. So sorry." He cringed. I sighed. After a moment, he nudged me.

"Are we still alright?" Newt asked, cautious. I rolled my eyes. He sighed.

"Understandable. But, um...we've got to keep going-running, I mean. Are you good?" He asked. I nodded. Newt stood, repacked his bag, and held his hand out.

"Come on, halfway done." He stated. I groaned, but let him pull me to my feet. He pulled to hard and I practically slammed into him. I squeaked in surprise and he grinned wider.

"That's the spirit."


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's been a while, but I think you guys will like this one. Please review, I love hearing your feedback.**

Newt POV

We barely made it back. Sam thought it was because of her but I insisted it was my fault for getting distracted. By what, I sincerely hoped she didn't realize. We were next to last, just in front of Andrew and his partner George. I'd brought her into the Map room, debriefed her on the mapping process, and now we were all heading to dinner. I was starving, all of us were. Sam as well. I expect she finally understood why everyone else got thirds.

It was just after dinner. Sam, sitting across from me, had been staring off into space for the past few minutes. I frowned.

"Dude." Minho, from my right, held up his watch until it was about an inch away from my nose. My eyes nearly crossed trying to look at it. "Three and half minutes. I think she's dead." I pushed his wrist away from my face and looked back at Sam. Maybe she was upset.

I still can't believe no one thought of the notebooks we give the Runners, that I didn't think of it. I'd wanted to talk to her so much, I'd only focused on actual speech. I like it when she signs, but honestly she was mad enough that she was signing too fast and I missed a few words.

Most of us have got some ability to read sign language, but for some reason, I'm the best at reading it. I only miss a few words here and there, but they're typically either not used in regular conversation or they're curse words. Mainly curse words. You'd think that'd be the first thing you learn, but apparently it's not and I hate telling Sam I've missed something.

She doesn't think I notice, but she always looks a little sad when people don't understand her. Mostly when it happens I just use context clues. Besides, I don't think she'd like it if I told her to stop cursing.

"Four." Minho whispered, raising his arm towards my face again. I pushed him away, then reached out and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Sam, are you alright?" I asked, worried. Sam blinked at the sound of her name, coming out of her thoughts. She glanced at my hand, then nodded. She hadn't...spoken...much since we got back. Either she was deeply traumatized by the Maze, or she was still mad at all of us. Perfectly within reason, to be honest. I dropped my arm.

"You're not still mad about earlier, are you?" I asked carefully. She rolled her eyes.

" _It's fine_."

"I'll still get you one, you should have one." I assured her. Minho frowned, confused.

"What's she mad about?" He asked. I sighed.

"Runners have all got a notebook and a pen or something." I said. He nodded.

"Yeah, so?" Minho shrugged.

"Not one of us had the brilliant idea to give her a set." I informed him. "She could've been talking ages ago." His eyes widened.

"Damn, I didn't even think about that." He said. He looked at Sam. "That sucks, Princess." Sam scowled at him.

" _S-a-m_ " She spelled. Minho shook his head.

"Nope." He grinned, popping the p. "You're stuck with it. Sorry, Princess." She sighed, exasperated. Then looked up at something behind us.

"Newt." I turned. Alby. He nodded towards the door and headed out. I followed him. We stopped just outside the door.

"How'd she do?" Alby asked.

"What, Sam?" I asked. He nodded. "Fine. Good. She's fast, focused-are you sure that she should be a Runner? I mean, she hasn't-"

"Did something happen?" Alby raised an eyebrow. I paused.

"No, it's just..." I sighed. "No, nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I nodded. "Nothing." Alby snorted.

"It'd better be nothing." He smirked.

"What?"

"Nothing." Alby repeated. "If you say she's good, she's good. I'll see what Nick thinks, maybe we can get her started tomorrow."

"Good that." I nodded briskly.

"And Newt?"

"Yeah?" Alby looked at me suspiciously.

"I see something I don't like, Greenie's getting a new roommate. You got me?" Alby finished.

"What? I don't-I don't know what you-"

Alby chuckled.

"Just go finish your damn dinner, shank." He told me, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Alby!" I protested. Alby left, probably to talk with Nick. I pursed my lips. I need to find less observant friends. Immediately.

I stood there for a while, considering my options, before heading back to dinner. Nick was talking to Sam and Minho.

"...tomorrow. You up for it, Greenie?" Nick finished. Sam nodded, chewing one of her carrots. I grinned.

"Good that." Minho grinned. Nick walked off as I sat down next to Sam.

"He told you?" I asked, looking at Sam. Minho nodded.

"Oh yeah." He grinned. "You're looking at the newest Runner, my man."

He reached out to Sam for a fist bump. She raised an eyebrow.

"Fist bump, shank. Like this." He grabbed her hand and curled it into a fist, then tapped it against his other hand.

"This is basic knowledge, Princess. You gotta know these things." He let go of her hand. I frowned.

" _Hey, you okay_?" Sam asked me. " _You were outside for a while_."

"Yeah, brilliant." I nodded.

" _What did A-l-b-y want_?"

"Um...just to see how you did, is all." I managed, looking away. Sam frowned.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" Minho reached towards her plate. Sam shook her head. He grabbed the rest of her carrots, defying logic and fitting all of them in his mouth at once. Sam cringed. So did I. I'm honestly afraid that eventually Minho could swallow his own hand by mistake.

"What?" He managed. Once he'd finally finished chewing, that is. Well, mostly.

"Big day tomorrow. I'm storing energy." He defended. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You're right, I need more protein than this. Are you done with your steak?" He asked. Sam rolled her eyes and pushed her plate towards him.

" _I'm going to bed_." She decided, standing up from the table. " _Good night_."

"Night." I called after her. Sam headed out. I frowned at Minho.

"You've got to stop that, man." I said. Minho frowned.

"Stop what? Eating?" He scoffed. He stood and moved to the other side of the table, sitting down across from me. Taking what remained of Sam's dinner with him. I rolled my eyes.

"Eating everyone else's food, yes. God knows Sam eats half what we do without you helping her. Not to mention you've eaten practically an entire cow already." I reasoned.

"Two steaks is not-"

"Three." I pointed to the rest of Sam's dinner.

"I'm a growing boy, I need meat." He protested. "You're just mad cause I'm keeping you from that weird kink you have."

"What?" I asked, incredulous. "I do not have any weird...whatever."

"First of all, you're wrong. I saw how you were looking at her, you think it's cute when she eats, don't you? If that's not a-"

"It's not a bloody kink, is what is. I haven't got one. And you haven't seen her eat sandwiches, it's adorable. I just think you should save food for people who haven't gotten sevenths."

"It was one time and I didn't eat lunch!"

"That doesn't warrant nine bowls of soup! It's not even an actual food and you just-"

"It is an actual food because it was chili, and it was eight! So stop changing the subject and just admit you like-"

"I'm not changing the subject, we should still be on my subject! And I don-"

"Shut up, would ya!" Gally yelled. We stopped. "Some of us are trying to eat here." I scowled at him, but we quieted down. At any rate, I'd forgotten what we were talking about. Miraculously, Minho managed to stay quiet for about three seconds before he continued. Albeit slightly quieter.

"Yes, you do." He said.

"I do what?" I asked, knowing full well what he was asking. Minho rolled his eyes.

"You're crushing on Sam, you shank." He stated. "You're super nice to her-"

"I'm nice to everybody." I replied. Minho rolled his eyes again. I was beginning to feel like that was practically the only expression he was capable of.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He went on. "You're nice to her, you talk to her all the time, you stare at her, and-your words, you brought this on yourself-you think it's adorable when she eats sandwiches. That's weird, man. I mean, the rest of it's like normal crush stuff, but you gotta calm down with your sandwich kink because-"

"It's not a kink, stop saying that." I whispered harshly. Minho sighed.

"The point is, you have a crush on her. And I'd bet my breakfast you're not the only one. You gotta get in there." He insisted, trying to convince me. I sighed.

"Well if you're betting food, then this is quite a grave situation." I muttered, smiling slightly. He snorted. Then he tried to get back to looking serious.

"You're her best friend, Newt. And I know she likes you, she has to. I mean, why else would she be hanging around your ugly mug so much?" He nudged me playfully. I sighed.

"She's the only girl, Minho, why would she want me when she could have any guy she wants...except maybe Ben, but-"

"What, you think Ben's out of her league or something?" Minho raised an eyebrow, confused. I rolled my eyes.

"No one's out of her league." I replied. "If anything, she's out of everyone else's. And no, I think he's gay. But I'm telling you. She doesn't like me, she can't. I won't risk our friendship just by-"

"Dude. _I'm_ telling you she does. But even if she doesn't, she won't push you away. You're besties, remember? Just...trust me, would you?" Minho finished his argument. Finally, I nodded. If only to get him off my case.

"Fine." I muttered. "Whatever. Goodnight."

Minho grinned. I stood, dropped my dishes off in the kitchen, then headed upstairs.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:Happy New Year! Be sure to review!**

Sam POV

I'd been a Runner for over two weeks now. There weren't many of us, but we all cycled through and today was my day off. Thankfully, I hadn't made what seemed to be the final transition and lost all sense of table manners. Newt was practically the only other Runner who didn't eat like he thought someone was about to steal his dinner.

Speaking of, it was getting close to six. The Runners should be back soon. I glanced towards the entrance to the Maze. Right on cue, Minho ran through the Doors. I jogged over to meet him. It might've been my day off but I wanted to see if I could help, if he needed anything.

I watched as Minho collapsed against the wall and slid down to sit in the grass. I sat down in front of him, waiting for him to catch his breath. Seeing me, he pulled a notebook out of his bag and wrote down the path he'd taken, not wanting to go all the way to the Map Room when he could do it here and file it away later. After a few minutes or so, he looked up and shoved the notebook away.

"What's up, shank?" He greeted me. He coughed, still out of breath. I grinned.

" _You o-k there_?" I asked. " _You're back kind of early_." He nodded.

"Just rushed back to see you, Princess." Minho joked. "Besides, I finished my section early." I smiled, then stood and helped him up.

" _Do you want to walk back for some water_?" I offered. Minho shrugged and we started walking.

"I'm not taking you away from anything special, am I?" He checked. I shook my head.

"Or anyone special?" He emphasized. I raised an eyebrow. He winked.

" _This again_?" I groaned. " _Look, do you want water or not_?"

"Oh no, we're not doing that anymore." Minho decided, stopping. I stopped too, watching him carefully. I could feel my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

" _Why not_?"

"We're not going anywhere until you confess your undying love." He declared, grinning. I almost burst out laughing.

" _What, for you? Yeah, no chance of that happening_." I practically scoffed. Change the subject. Change the subject. Change the subject. Minho glared at me.

"Not for me, you dumb shank." He rolled his eyes. "For Newt." I stared at him. I blinked.

" _But he's not even here_." Not a second later I realized I should have phrased that differently.

"I called it!" Minho exclaimed triumphantly.

" _Called_?" I frowned. Did he bet on this?

"You tell him or I will. I don't want to keep dealing with what I've been going through the last month."

" _What_ _ **you've**_ _been going though_?" I responded. Minho batted his eyelashes at me.

"Oh, Newt, you're so funny and cute and British. Just get over here and kiss me already." He mocked. I glared at him angrily.

"Who's kissing who now?" A voice interrupted. Minho and I turned. Newt and Ben had just gotten back and had walked over to us. I froze.

"Uh...she lost a bet and won't pay up." Minho covered, smirking. Shit. No way in hell was I letting him bring that up. I hadn't told anyone my first kiss was technically Minho and no one needed to know that. Newt didn't need to know that.

" _Don't you dare go there, that is the most ridiculous-_ "

"Awww, come on Sam. Don't be like that." Ben smirked. "A bet's a bet. Just kiss the shank, he can't be that bad."

" _You haven't kissed him_." I argued, scowling at Minho. Ben chuckled.

"Unfortunately."

"I'm sorry, and you **have**?" Newt asked, incredulous. I blanched.

" _Well, I_ -"

"Oh, please." Minho interrupted. "That doesn't count, it wasn't even on the lips! Come to think of it, considering you didn't do it the first time I'd say you owe me double!"

I gritted my teeth. I felt like he was trying to help, but this had to be the worst possible way for him to go about doing it. Especially considering that was a lie.

"Do you make deals like this often?" Newt frowned, watching me for an answer.

"What was it about?" Ben questioned.

"Now, hang on-" Newt tried again.

"What was what about?" Minho asked, purposely ignoring him.

"The bet, shank." Ben stated obviously. Minho blinked.

"Uh..."

" _He bet he would get back here before me and I forgot it was my day off_." I told them, jumping in.

"And you didn't know it was her day off? Newt asked Minho, confused. "You're usually running partners." I blinked. Minho answered.

"I-I forgot. But look, if she didn't leave the Glade then she didn't come back either. Therefore, today I got back first." He insisted.

"But if Sam didn't leave, then she didn't need to come back because she was here all day." Newt protested. "So she wins. So she doesn't have to kiss you. What did you have to do if you lost?"

"Um..."

"No, wait." Ben started. "Who was first yesterday? Because if Sam was last yesterday and you didn't clarify then technically she got here before-"

"No, she would have needed to be first yesterday. Please tell you were first yesterday." Newt looked at me. Ben frowned.

"No, because what I'm saying is if she was last then she was before Minho today. If Minho was after her yesterday, then he would have gone twice in a row and-"

"But that doesn't make any se-"

"You know what?" Minho announced, frustrated. "I give up." He looked at me.

" _Thank you_!" I glared at Minho. He probably couldn't tell I was being sarcastic, but it's the thought that counts.

"I'm just gonna let you off easy." Minho went on. "On one condition." God damn it.

"You have to kiss someone else. That seems fair, right?" He smirked. He's smug. Too smug for someone who doesn't have ulterior motives. If this is going where I think it's going, I'm gonna to murder him.

" _How the hell does that translate_?" I demanded. Minho frowned.

"How does that what?" He asked, cringing.

"Translate." Newt supplied casually. I flinched. Ben and Minho looked at Newt, grinning. They wouldn't. Glancing between the three of them, I bit my lip. They would, wouldn't they? Newt's eyebrows furrowed, confusion written on his face. It was actually kind of ador-wait, Minho wasn't going to-

"Why are you looking at-oh, don't put that on her. I'm not going to do that. She clearly doesn't want-" Newt was cut off before he could finish his protest.

"Well, it's not gonna be me." Ben interjected. "I'm gay."

"There you go. Kiss Newt." Minho said smugly. "Wait, what?"

"Dude," Ben frowned. "I told you like last week that I had crush on-"

"Oh, right." Minho nodded. "Anyways, do it!" He grabbed both of our arms and pulled the two of us closer together until we were practically touching.

"She doesn't fancy me, I'm not making her do that." Newt repeated. "And she doesn't have to kiss anyone if she doesn't want to, so stop being a prick about it."

God, why did he have to be so nice? Well, to me, that is. And cute, and funny, and considerate, and...oh, I'm so screwed. I bit my lip, watching the others. I definitely would've had some choice words but Newt and I were to close for me to sign anything. I would've hit him.

"Well, how do you know she isn't crushing on you?" Minho insisted, trying to convince him. He let go of us and crossed his arms. "It's probably a secret. I was the only one who knew that Ben has a crush on-"

"Wait, was?" Ben cut in. "Who did you tell?"

"Even if she does have some sort of secret crush, Sam's had every bloody opportunity to-"

"What, opportunities are the problem? Here's another one! And I didn't tell anyone, Ben! You told me not to and I don't have a reason to tell anyone because it's on-"

"We can't keep talking about her like she's not right in front of us! No one's even asked her what she-"

"You brag about everything, Minho! What was I supposed to think when you said-"

"Not about that, I wouldn't! And maybe if you'd just-"

"Stop it!" Newt yelled. I winced at the volume. The three of us stared at him. Uncomfortable with all the shouting, I'd taken a step back so I'd be out of the way if it escalated. Seeing the break in their argument as his chance, Minho shoved me back towards Newt and I nearly collided with him. Newt placed his hands on my shoulders, steadying both of us. Newt glared at Minho. Ben, at least, had the decency to look concerned. But for who, I didn't know.

"Alright you know what, I'm gonna put a stop to this right now." Newt interjected. He took a deep breath. "Sam does not have any interest me. Here, if that doesn't bloody work for you then I'll prove it."

He moved his hands to my waist and pulled me forward into a bruising kiss. It was sudden and passionate, and I was completely frozen. I could feel Ben and Minho staring at us but I couldn't have cared less because-

"See." Newt pulled back. He looked sad. "I told you."

"You got your bloody kiss, now leave her alone." Then he walked off. And I was still frozen, breathless from the kiss.

"Don't just stand there! Go get him, girl!" Minho pushed me towards Newt and I almost fell over. Then I regained my balance and jogged after Newt. I pulled on his arm, wanting him to turn around so I could talk to him. He turned around but stepped back, letting my hand drop from his arm.

"Look I'm sorry, alright?" Newt managed, running a hand through his hair. "That was stupid, and impulsive, and I don't know what I was thinking. We can just forget the whole thing if that's what you want."

There was a moment where it was quiet. I didn't know what to say. He waited, watching for my response, and I chose my words carefully.

" _Is that what you want_?" I asked. He pursed his lips.

"What I...no." Newt decided. "No, I've...I've been wanting to do that for ages, love. I'll admit, I had envisioned it to be under different circumstan-"

Then I pulled him down by his shirt and kissed him. After a moment he responded, pulling me closer by placing his hands on my hips. Just as passionate as the first, and it was over far too quickly. We separated, our breathing uneven. He smiled breathlessly, relief flooding his features, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"As I was saying." Newt grinned, wrapping his arms back around my waist. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

* * *

"I can't believe they basically forgot we're still over here." Minho remarked. "Seriously, they didn't even walk that far, it's not like they're...secluded."

"We should go to dinner." Ben muttered. He was starting to feel kind of creepy. Minho shrugged.

"Probably." The other boy replied. Ben raised an eyebrow.

"But we're not going to."

"Oh, no. Definitely not." Minho stated. "I've had to watch those stupid shanks make eyes at each other for forever. I'm taking the time to admire my work, thank you." There were a few seconds of quiet before Ben broke the silence.

"You weren't really going to tell them, were you?" He asked. Minho shook his head.

"Nah." He assured him. "And you'll find someone who's actually gay eventually, there's no way it's just you. Besides, I'd be willing to bet everyone's had a crush on me at some point. I'm irresistible."

"Obviously. Oh, they noticed us."

"What?"

"They're looking at us. They're definitely looking at us."

"Go!" Minho yelled. He raced off to dinner, Ben running just behind him.


	14. Chapter 14

Three days later, Minho and I were back early. As we came into the Glade, we paused, resting for a moment. I caught my breath and looked up, scanning the Glade. We were still a distance away, but I could see that everyone had gathered around the Box. I looked at Minho and nodded towards them, asking a silent question.

"Greenie day." He breathed. "Later."

We ran to the Map Room and got to work, reciting words under our breath as we scribbled down directions as legibly and as quickly as we could. Finally, we set everything down. I sighed. Gesturing towards Minho, we switched and compared what we'd written. Identical. Except for the writing, of course. Minho's handwriting was nearly unreadable chicken scratch. Mine was much neater, but practically small enough for a magnifying glass. Minho chuckled as we walked out.

"I don't know if it's a girl thing, or what, but you gotta start writing bigger, shank. I swear, I'm gonna get them to bring up a microscope so I can read your tiny little letters." He teased. I grinned. We leaned against the outside of the hut, looking towards where the others were welcoming the new Glader.

"Guess we just missed the alarm." He commented. The two of us started to head over, then he stopped me. Minho frowned.

"Maybe you shouldn't...I mean, the shank will already be freaking out, you might make it worse." He managed. I raised an eyebrow. "I know. But what if he...I don't know, tackles you or something?"

"So I'm supposed to avoid him forever." I scowled. Minho cringed.

"Just, I don't know, give him some time to adjust or something. At least wait until dinner?" I sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

I sat at one of the tables in the Homestead, waiting for dinner to be ready. I was starving. I was kind of far from the line, but it was hot outside and it was colder over here in the back. It was me, and a few boys clanking around in the Kitchen. Everyone else was probably still fawning over whoever new guy was. Poor sap.

I glanced towards the direction of the Box, where they were all still gathered, wondering when they'd come over for dinner. It had been a long day, I just wanted to eat and sit with my friends. Well, and one sort of...Newt. I couldn't tell what we were, but we'd agreed not to mention it to anyone. At least for a little while. Mostly because we didn't want to deal with questions and Minho probably told everyone anyway so there was no point in making any weird announcements.

I tapped my pen on the table, then went back to drawing in my notebook. I'd done it inside the back cover, not wanting to waste any of the pages on my nonexistent art skills. That, and no one needed to see how bad I was at drawing faces. Even I couldn't tell who some of these were.

I closed my notebook when I heard voices. I turned to look towards the doorway. The others were drifting in, and almost last was someone I didn't recognize. The new boy. Everyone else got in line for dinner, and I started to gather my stuff and put it back in my bag. Then the Greenie saw me and walked over. I pursed my lips, but stopped packing my stuff.

"Hey." He said, sitting next to me. "I'm Michael." I nodded. Michael moved a bit closer and we shook hands. Wait, why isn't he asking why I'm a girl? Or something like that, I don't know.

"Minho, I think, said you couldn't talk, or something. Do you just...write, I guess?" He asked. There's the answer. Minho, poor shank, must've gotten Greenie watch and debriefed him. Or at least, gave him enough information that he didn't run around screaming.

"S-i-g-n." I told him. I figured I'd start with letters, since most of the other boys knew the alphabet. I still wasn't sure why so many of them actually knew sign language, but I assumed either they knew me previously and had tried to learn it, had gotten it from exposure and context clues, or whoever put us here didn't want me talking and had ingrained it into their brains so I could have communication. The last one made me shudder. I didn't like to think about what they might've done to us.

"And that always works? Have you been here a while?" Michael asked.

I shrugged and pulled my notebook back out, glancing at the dinner line as I wrote. Greenie better wrap it up or there won't be any food left.

"I like to get to dinner early." I wrote, trying to make my handwriting a little bigger. I'd rather have signed, but he was new. I figured I wouldn't confuse him anymore in case he didn't know what I was signing. But if he can't read, that's his problem. I pushed my notebook over. He leaned closer and glanced at my writing.

"No, I mean here." Michael clarified. "In the Glade."

"Like a month." This was awkward, I hated small talk. Not to mention I'm hungry and he just stared at me in silence while I was writing my response. Michael looked surprised.

"Really?" He asked. "You've been here that long?" I shrugged. It didn't seem that long to me. Not compared to the others, at least. I nodded.

"And you're just sitting over here by yourself?" Michael questioned. I raised an eyebrow.

"It's just...you're the only girl." He stated. I frowned. "And Minho didn't mention...but you've been here a while and you don't...I mean, no one's asked-no one's tried to..." Michel trailed off. I frowned. I didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Why? What are you asking?"

"No reason." He started. "I was just wondering...I mean, if you're not going out with anyone, did you want to go out with me?"

Okay, are you kidding me? Michael seems okay, but he's been here for literally under an hour. For all he knows I could be a total psychopath. He could be a total psychopath. Probably not, though. I sighed and shook my head. He frowned.

"What, do you have a boyfriend?" He asked. I closed my notebook.

"I-"

"He doesn't need to know." Michael cut me off before I had time to tell him my answer.

"There are a ton of guys here and you've only had one?" He continued. "I wouldn't buy that." What, now he thinks I'm sleeping around with everyone? I haven't had any. That came out of nowhere, what the fuck's wrong with this guy? By this time he had gotten a lot closer, again demonstrating his disregard for personal space.

"What do I have to do convince you?" His tone was still curious, and somehow it felt as though part of him couldn't tell how he was coming across.

"I don't-"

"So you don't have a boyfriend? Then what's wrong with me?" Michael kept pushing. Well, that escalated. That had been a bit rougher and he was almost scowling at me. I scowled back at him. This is getting out of hand. Sorry, Newt.

"I do, actually." I told him. "And I think he would be pretty mad if he-"

"If he found out I was giving you something better?" Michael suggested. What do you know, he is good at sign language. "You know what, you probably don't even have a boyfriend. Who is he?" He demanded.

"I shouldn't have to-"

"Unless you're lying." He challenged. I rolled my eyes.

"N-e-w-t. Happy?" I signed, trying my best to sign angrily. Sometimes I hate it, not being able to talk. At that moment Newt walked through the doors. He was back early. Newt saw me and Michael, then frowned and walked over.

"No." Michael scowled. "I'm not. Even if you're telling the truth, I'm the better option and you know it." Newt reached us, then leaned down and kissed me. After a moment of surprise, I kissed back. He sat behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. Michael stared. I turned around and Newt grinned.

"Sorry I'm late, I know you like to get here early. Greenie bothering you, love?" He asked. Newt scowled at Michael, who cringed, uncomfortable.

"Got something to say, have you?" Newt said stiffly.

"Sam says you're her boyfriend." Michael snapped. "Is that true? " Newt raised an eyebrow.

"No, I just snog all my friends as greeting. It's how the British say hello, haven't you ever been to England?" He remarked. I suppressed a smile.

"Although, it does surprise me that she brought it up in what I'm sure was a completely casual conversation." Newt started. "But that couldn't have been what was going on here because I asked her not to say anything. So what I'm hearing is she only told you because you were hitting on her after she asked you not to, which I'm sure she did. Were you making a move on my girlfriend, Michael?" Newt glared at him.

Michael's smug look disappeared, quickly replaced by a look of anger. He glared at him, then stood and started storming off towards dinner. Newt watched him, then his gaze softened and he relaxed. I turned to face him.

"Are you alright, love?" He asked. I nodded.

"Fine." I signed.

"I'm sorry if that's too fast, or if you don't-if you don't want to be...I know that was probably an excuse." He sighed. "I just, you looked like you were having an argument and once I heard him I knew he wasn't going to leave and-" I kissed him, cutting him off. When he pulled away, he was smiling.

"Thank you."

"So that, that means you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked, making sure. I smiled and nodded.

"Brilliant." He managed. "That would've been awkward."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: I'm sorry this one is kind of short. To be honest, there might not be another one for a bit because I'm having slight writers block. I tried to write the story ahead of time but now I have the beginning and the end without this one important part in the middle that I can't work out. So it might be slow for a little while, but after a couple chapters it'll pick right back up again. I promise.**

 **Please read and review! (I live for your awesome reviews)**

 **-SirIsaacNewt**

* * *

They threw a party for Michael, a welcoming. Most of them had gone and brought in wood; there was enough to keep the bonfire going all night. I hadn't seen Newt, but I was sure he was around here somewhere. I was standing a bit on the edge, away from the fighting, when Minho came up and nudged me with his elbow. I jumped. He laughed.

"Drink?" Minho asked. He held up two makeshift glasses. The glass jars were filled with a murky, almost clear liquid. I took it, but frowned, then handed it back.

" _What is it_?" I looked at him suspiciously, almost afraid of the answer. He grinned.

"Gally makes it." Minho answered. "I don't know what he puts in there, but it's flammable." I cringed. "You'll like it, come on."

" _Not until I know what's in it_." I told him.

"Go ask him, then." Minho suggested, gesturing to the ring that had formed around the others while they fought each other. Any excuse for Gally to beat up the Greenie.

"He's right over there." Minho said smugly. "Unless you're too scared." I glared at him.

" _I'm not scared_." I scowled. " _He's in the middle of a fight_."

"Come on." Minho swirled the drink in its jar, grinning. With a final scowl, I grabbed it from him and stalked off, drink still in hand. Newt was watching the ring from a distance, glaring at Michael. Apparently fighting was a Greenie initiation, one I'd been lucky enough to get out of. I stopped next to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up, and his expression softened slightly when he saw me. Then he frowned.

"Are you gonna drink that?" He cringed. I shrugged.

"Don't drink that." He took the jar from me. "It's terrible." I frowned. He looked weird holding two jars.

" _What's_ _in_ _it_?" I questioned. " _Minho_ _wouldn't_ _tell_ _me_."

"Because he doesn't know either." Newt replied. "And alcohol, mostly, so if I were you I wouldn't go about drinking it." He took a sip from his jar.

" _Why_ _not_?" Now I wanted it. It probably tasted terrible, but I wanted it.

"You don't look like you have a high alcohol tolerance." He told me. "We've got at least forty boys, I just...please, I'd really prefer it if you weren't walking around drunk. Not that I don't trust you, of course, but..." He sighed and stared into the circle, then took another drink. He made a face.

"Not to mention it tastes terrible." Newt cringed. "Have I mentioned that? You'll hate it, trust me." I looked up at him sadly, intentionally pouting.

"Stop looking at me." He whined. "Those bloody doe eyes of yours are far too tempting." I stared at him. He looked warily at the glass, then sighed and handed it over. I grinned and took the jar.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He clinked his jar against mine, then took another gulp of the drink.

"And if you don't like it, don't keep drinking it to prove a point." He added. I shrugged, then took a sip from my own jar. Newt watched me carefully. I was right, it tasted like shit. I grimaced, then swallowed hard. He chuckled.

"I warned you." He grinned. I narrowed my eyes, took another drink, then cringed and handed it back to him. "Don't drink that if I'm not here, it's got a hell of a kick. I don't know what'll happen to your communication skills if you're drunk or hungover."

 _"Is it really flammable?"_ I asked. Newt looked confused for a moment, and I spelled the word for him. He mouthed the word when I finished spelling, then he shook his head.

"No, I got it, I was just...considering." He said, frowning at the drinks he was holding. His was practically empty, and he set it on the ground. Then after a moment, he answered.

"No, there's not enough alcohol for it to be flammable on its own." He said. He looked into the jar. "At least, I don't think it's flammable." Newt glanced into the ring again. I nodded towards it.

 _Do you want to get closer?_ I mouthed. He pursed his lips, then shook his head.

"No, if you want to keep back here, I'll-" I grabbed his hand and led him towards the fighting ring. Their yelling and cheering drowned out the sound of everything else. I couldn't see much, but I stood on my tiptoes and just managed to make out Gally slamming into Winston. I looked at Newt.

"Stay with me, would you? This lot goes mental when they're full of this." He held his drink up. Well, mine. Sort of. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at it, then back at him.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not nearly as bad, I promise." He defended. "Unlike these shanks, I happen to be a perfect gentlemen." I grinned, then looked into the circle.

"They're trying to knock each other out of the ring." Newt explained, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the cheering. "Gally's on a winning streak of four to one, last time I checked. If he gets this, it'll be five in a row and we'll get close to calling it a night."

Suddenly, Winston was thrown from the circle. He slammed into Ben, who laughed, and they would've fallen over if it wasn't for the crowd behind them. The others shoved them back up and Winston left the circle, defeated.

"That's five." He said. I tapped him on the shoulder and started to mouth my question.

 _"Does Gally have to win a certain number of fights to-"_

"Oh! That reminds me." Newt took my hand and pulled me away from the others. Where there was more space, more breathing room. We walked further from the others and started heading in the direction of the Map Room. I stopped and he turned, letting go of my hand.

 _"What are we doing?"_ I asked. He grinned.

"You'll see in a bit. I just want to make sure I don't forget, is all." Newt opened the door and flicked on the lights. Confused, I waited while he dug through one of the trunks.

"Ah-ha!" He exclaimed. He stood and turned around, holding something behind his back. I bit my lip.

"Close your eyes." He smiled. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed.

"I was supposed to give you this ages ago, I'm trying to make it more fun. Now come on." He pleaded. "Hold out your hands." Smiling slightly, I rolled my eyes, but obliged. I heard him step forward, and he pressed something into my hands. My thumbs ran over the cover. A book. I opened my eyes and flipped through pages. Blank. Lined. I grinned.

"I know, you should've had this awhile ago." Newt said. "And I'm sorry I forgot, but I remembered. That's the important part, isn't it?" He handed me a pen. I took it and kissed his cheek.

"You missed." He grinned. "Come on, love. I thought you had better aim than that." I set both the pen and the notebook down, then pulled him closer. He tilted my chin up and his lips met mine, kissing me gently. He brushed my hair back, then his hands went to my hips. I pressed a hand to his chest, running the other through his hair. Newt-

"Sam?" A voice came from the doorway. We jumped apart. It's not like we were doing anything wrong, but we were startled. At least, I was, but I'm just jumpy in general. The other day Minho tapped my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Newt? What are you doing in here?" Someone asked.

"We're Runners, Ben, as are you. We've got a right to be in here." Newt looked over Ben's shoulder and frowned. "Winston, however, doesn't-"

"Alright, geez." Ben grumbled. "I'll find somewhere else. It's winding down out there, in case you were wondering." He glanced between the two of us. "Which I doubt."

"Ben!" Newt growled. Ben raised his hands, defensive. Then he left, taking his...friend with him. I grinned. Ben would be adorable with anyone. The door swung shut, and I winced at the noise. Newt sighed and handed me the notebook and the pen.

"Anyways...these are yours." He sighed. I took them and we walked out of the Map Room.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: I'm so sorry this took a month. Just one more little wait between this one and the next, then I have a bunch written already and it should go much faster. Thanks for hanging in there! Please review!**

It had been a two months, and I was starting to run out of space. If my handwriting was the size of Minho's I would've filled up all the pages in my notebook by now. As it was, I'd requested they send up a new one. Hopefully I'd get it in three days, the next time the Box was supposed to come up.

Worse comes to worse, they had to have an extra lying around somewhere. Still, the fact that I was drawing on the pages I'd already used didn't make it any prettier. Newt looked over my shoulder.

"What's that?" He asked, sitting down with his dinner. Minho looked up from his chicken, then reached across the table and slid the notebook over to himself. I tried to protest, but he leaned back from the table, keeping it out of my reach. I glared at him but he ignored me, flipping through my notebook. I glanced at Newt, who pursed his lips like he was trying not to laugh, something he also did when he was upset. I raised an eyebrow. He chuckled.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry you look cute when you're frustrated?" He asked, grinning. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I smiled at him. Minho rolled his eyes.

"This is really detailed, were you sitting in front of the Doors when you started sketching it out?" He studied the drawing. Newt frowned and leaned across the table, reclaiming my notebook. I reached for it, but he leaned against the table, blocking me with his arm. I narrowed my eyes and he chuckled.

"What? I'm looking." Newt looked at it closer. "Minho's right, this is...impressively detailed. How long did it take you?" I shrugged.

" _I don't know_." I answered. " _Sometimes I can't sleep. So I draw_." Minho looked at me. Alby looked up from his dinner and took the notebook.

"You did this from memory? In the dark?" He asked. "How good is your memory?"

" _I don't know. It's okay_." Now all three of them were staring at me. Newt watched the exchange warily.

"Alright, it's hers. Let's stop passing it around like it's some kind of-"

"Really? Because now that I'm thinking about it, you get your maps done a lot faster than Minho does." Alby said, ignoring him.

"I resent that." Minho cut in.

" _I_ _guess I do. So_?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's just...I think it's kinda weird, is all." Alby stated. Newt frowned.

"Weird? Why? What's wrong with it?" His eyebrows furrowed. Minho sighed.

"Don't get all defensive boyfriend on me, I just...look, forget it. If I think it's an issue, I'll talk to Sam when she's by herself." Alby turned the notebook back towards him and squinted at the drawing. It was the entrance to the Maze drawn on the back of a conversation from two days ago. Every vine, every twist and turn that could be seen through the Doors, taking up the whole page.

"You make it sound like you want to interrogate her." Newt frowned at Alby, who sighed.

"All I'm saying is we should at least-"

Alby stopped. Chuck had sat down next to me and started eating. He was late to dinner. I bit my lip. He hadn't noticed we were all staring at him, and the tense atmosphere was making me nervous.

"What?" Chuck asked, looking around the table.

"Chuck-" Minho started. I kicked him under the table, glaring at him. Chuck just looked confused. I smiled at him.

"Uh, what's up, man?" Minho covered. He looked around, trying to change the subject, landing on my notebook.

"Man, I swear, it's like a Griever could pop out of this thing." He joked, looking at the drawing and trying to lighten the mood. Newt cringed and pushed the notebook back towards me. Minho looked at him, grinning slightly.

"What are you, shank? Scared of a couple Grievers?" Minho teased.

"Not for nothing, I'm not." Newt muttered, looking over at me.

" _I'd fight em off for you_." I mouthed, twirling my dinner knife. Chuck grinned. Newt snorted. I set the knife down.

" _What_?" I asked, indignant.

"Did you just-fight them off? What could you do?" Newt chuckled. "What, I'm just roaming around in the Maze, a bloody griever pops up, but _oh no_ I'm safe. Why, you ask? My _girlfriend_ who is practically half a foot shorter than me and probably fifty pounds lighter has come to my rescue with a _butter_ _knife_. I'm saved!" He laughed, grinning at me. He could tell I was trying not to smile.

 _"If anything, I'm only two inches shorter than you."_ I scowled playfully _._

"It's more than that." Chuck put in. I huffed. He's one to talk, I've got at least four inches on him.

"If you say so, love." Newt replied, kissing my temple. Chuck made a face.

"I'm almost not hungry anymore." Minho cringed.

"Almost being the key word there." Newt replied. "I doubt I'd ever manage to do something that would prevent you from eating."

"Well, you can just...just shut up, you shuck." Minho muttered. I snickered.

"Both of you." He corrected. "Can't a guy eat his dinner in peace?"

" _Not if it's his fourth_." I shot back, grinning. Minho rolled his eyes, but grinned back and shoved down the rest of his dinner.

"I'm gonna take this back to the kitchen." He said, standing up with his plate. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The three of us were the only ones left. We felt bad letting Minho finish alone. We watched him walk towards the back of the Kitchen, then Newt and I headed upstairs.

* * *

I was dreaming, and a barrage of disturbing images flashed through my mind. A grown man bleeding and holding a knife, snarling like an animal from behind a rusty set of bars. Then it changed, and Gally drowning and screaming, pounding his fists on a glass wall. A different scene flashed through, a girl stared through a digital screen, grinning as she talked to a tall boy with dark hair, one I hadn't seen before. I watched as she scanned images, files. Some faces I'd seen, some faces I hadn't. Then there was Chuck at a computer, looking through a series of video feeds and standing next to the boy from before. He was laughing, and I felt like I'd seen him before, before all of this. Then the same boy was on an operating table, and Newt drowning in a glass tank. It was confusing and I couldn't think clearly. Then I was the one drowning. And they watched. And then I was falling.

* * *

I lurched awake, feeling like I was about to be sick. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It was important. That much I know. But the dream was fading, and I was almost ready fall asleep again. I willed myself to stay up. I swallowed again.

In the darkness, I reached around on the side table. I'd decided that if a dream or something of the like seemed as though it could be a memory, I'd write it down as well. It was no wonder I was running out of space. Everything that wasn't a conversation was in the back of the book, of course. I didn't want it to get in the way of what the notebook was actually for. I blindly reached for the pen and it rolled off the table, clattering loudly to the floor and rolling under the bed. I cringed and glanced at Newt sleeping across from me, hoping the noise hadn't woken him up. Thankfully, it seemed he was sleeping as soundly as ever. I smiled softly.

Carefully, I edged off my bed and got down to get a better look, pressing the side of my head to the floor as I looked under the bed frame. I caught sight of the pen and reached for it, then noticed something else. Something I'd forgotten about. My bag, the one Newt had given me on the first day.

 _"It had a note that said it was for you, so...here." Newt held it out. I took it and placed it at the foot of the cot._

It must've fallen under the bed. Grabbing the pen and the bag, I pulled both out from under the bed then set them both on top of the mattress. Shifting out from my position of being partially under the bed, I quietly got up and moved back on top of the mattress. I set the pen and the notebook on the side table, then looked in the bag.

There wasn't much, to be honest. An extra set of clothes, hair ties...a notebook and a pen, which meant my initial complete lack of communication was entirely my fault. I sighed and looked through the rest of the bag. To be honest, there wasn't much else in there. I moved to shove it back under the bed when I noticed a piece of paper in one of the pockets. I pulled it out, then sat up and, without thinking, turned the light on to read it. Newts eyes blinked open and I shoved the paper in my pocket. He groaned and looked over.

"What time is it?" He asked hoarsely. Then he looked at his watch and groaned again.

"Why?" He buried his face in his pillow. I turned the light off, then realized he needed to see me so I could apologize and I turned the light back on. He cringed, then gave an exasperated sigh and rolled back over to face me.

 _"I'm so sorry I woke you up, I woke up and I knocked some stuff over and I needed to get it out from under the bed and I couldn't see so I turned the light on but I forgot you were in here because you don't really make any noise when you sleep and I-"_

"Could you go slower, love." He muttered, sitting up. "I'm still adjusting." He blinked, squinting. I cringed.

" _I'm sorry_." I tried again. " _I was looking for something_." Newt shook his head.

"S'alright." He managed. "D'you-Did you find what you were...what you were looking for?" I nodded.

"Good that." Newt muttered. I reached over and turned the light back off. It was quiet for a moment, then I heard him flop back down on his bed and move over to pulled the blankets back up. Newt stopped moving, then he muttered something I didn't hear and turned the light back on. He turned and looked over at me.

"Any chance you want to sleep over here?" He asked quietly. "I...I'm cold." I bit my lip, fighting back a laugh. It was the cutest excuse I'd ever heard.

 _"Only because you're cold_." I grinned.

"Completely freezing." He replied, grinning back. Newt moved over to make more room in his bed, then pulled the covers back and let me slide in under the blankets. I laid down next to him, not wanting make him uncomfortable. True, he had asked, but I didn't want to overstep some kind of unspoken boundary. He chuckled.

"I wasn't lying, I really am cold, love. Come closer, will you?" I could hear him smiling. I turned and laid my head on his chest. I felt him relax and he wrapped his arms around me, pressing me into his chest.

"Goodnight, love." He said softly. I leaned up and kissed his cheek, then closed my eyes and listened to him drift slowly off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Sorry it's taken a lot longer than usual for me to update. Like I said, these next few updates are going to be a it slow, but after that I have like ten in a row already written. Just hang in there guys!**

 **Please review! I love reading them!**

 **-Sir**

Days off are the most bloody boring thing in existence. The touch of relaxation is nice, but I can't stand just sitting around and not being useful for more than an hour. Not without Sam or someone else to keep me company. And now I was anxious.

Sam and Minho had gone off into the Maze countless times. Shuck, so had I. But that didn't mean I wasn't worried. They'd missed dinner, and they've never been this late. Minho wouldn't miss dinner, I had a right to be worried, didn't I? My girlfriend and one of my best friends are out late running around in a concrete death trap and I have no way of knowing what's happened to them or if she's even-

"You okay, man?" Chuck asked. I jumped. He'd walked up behind me. I nodded.

"Brilliant." I said tersely. "Just brilliant." Chuck followed my gaze.

"You worried?" He asked. I pursed my lips.

"Chuck, I-I really don't feel like talking, alright?" I managed. "Just go, would you?" Chuck looked hurt.

"They're my friends too, you know." He mumbled. Instantly, I felt guilty. Sam says Chuck's got some sort of magic puppy eyes that make everyone bend to his will. She's quite protective of him. I smiled slightly. She was so cute.

Sam. God, where is she?

* * *

I paced in front of the Doors. Nick came to stand beside me. I frowned.

"You're waiting?" I asked. I shot another glance into the Maze.

"Unfortunately." Nick said grimly. "I know the two of them joke around a lot, but I don't think they'd be late if there wasn't something wrong."

"Look, I know it's against the rules, but can't I just-"

"Newt, you can't be serious. I know you're a Runner, but we could lose them and I don't want to lose you too. You're not going anywhere." Nick said firmly.

"Just-"

"I said no."

I sighed, frustrated. The two of them were cutting it close as it was. They'd been getting careless and now...now they might not make it back. Sam and Minho might be...then Minho burst through the Doors. Just Minho. He sank to the ground, catching his breath. I stormed over to him.

"Where is she?" I growled. "You're alone. Where is she?"

"Right...behind me." Minho gasped. I stared down the corridor. No one.

"You're a team." I spoke angrily through clenched teeth. "You're supposed to work together. You're supposed to watch her! Where is she?"

"She's...I...we have to..." Minho struggled. Sam nearly slammed into me. Surprised, I stepped back, and reached out to steady her before she could fall over. The sound of grinding gears filled the air as the doors began to shut for the night. They'd both made it. They were both safe. Barely.

I let go of her and started to turn to Minho. Then, without me supporting her, Sam collapsed to the ground. I wasn't expecting it at all, or I would've caught her. Immediately I kneeled beside her. The color was practically draining from her face.

"Serum." Minho rasped. "She...need to..." he broke off, coughing. Immediately, Nick raced off towards the Med tent. It didn't matter that he was in charge, none of us wanted to lose someone. Especially me and especially because that someone was her. I moved to try and carry her towards the tent, but she gasped in pain as soon as I touched her.

Suddenly, Sam contorted in pain and clutched her side. Her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands as she cried out. Carefully, I pushed her shirt up to just below her chest. The skin was black and mottled, veins branching out from just below her ribs. With the shirt out of the way, I could see a massive gash surrounded by blood that had been smeared by her torn shirt. She groaned. There was virtually no way I could move her without her bleeding out.

Suddenly Nick was back, followed by Jeff and Clint. Jeff, holding the needle with the serum, moved quickly to Sam and jammed it into her arm. Instantly, her eyes shot open. And she screamed. Something that shouldn't have happened. It tore through me like a great shard of glass, cutting like a dagger.

Her hands went to her head, tearing through her hair as though she was trying to reach the inside of her head by scraping away the skin. She screamed hysterically. Terrified by her reaction, I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the ground, trying to keep her from hurting herself. Sam thrashed, trying to throw me off.

"You're making it worse!" I shouted. "What did you give her?"

"What did I give her? I gave her the shucking serum! It should've worked!" Jeff responded. As if on cue, an alarm rang throughout the Glade. Minho, who had recovered and had been watching the scene in front of him unfold with a look of complete horror, ran straight for the Box. I watched him race off with Clint. He couldn't possibly get whatever they were sending up, it was impossible to tell how long the alarm would ring for this kind of thing. Sam was sobbing.

"Sam, you need to listen to me." I looked at her. "I want you to focus on me. Keep your eyes open. It'll be over soon, you just have to-"

"She's not a child, Newt." Nick said gruffly. I glowered.

"Yes, because you doing absolutely nothing is incredibly helpful!" I shouted. Nick scowled. Sam made a suppressed choking noise, like a sob that was coming from the back of her throat. I felt like I was about to have some sort of frantic breakdown. Jeff had finally taken stock of everything he'd managed to grab before running over and was in full on Med Jack mode.

"Newt, I need you to restrain her and keep her from moving. I need to stop the bleeding, but if I don't whatever just came up won't help her." He said seriously. But I couldn't. He couldn't help unless I let go of her and I-

"What the hell is going on here?" Gally demanded. Unsurprisingly, he and a few others had come to see who was screaming.

"Grab her legs!" I yelled. "Restrain her! Do something!" Miraculously, he listened. Distraught, I shifted to try and give him a better angle as he got down and grabbed her ankles. The others, deciding it wasn't their place to be standing over us, ran off.

"The serum-" Gally started.

"Wow, I hadn't thought of that." I snapped, nearly shouting. "Thanks, Gally, for being such a bloody genius!"

"Move!" Minho was back. He was holding a small box. Practically throwing himself down next to us, he tore the lid off and pulled out the new serum, quickly jamming it into her arm. Instantly, her eyes shot open. She slowly stopped thrashing, but her breathing was slowing down. Then her eyes closed.

"Sam? Sam!" I started panicking.

"She's fine. Newt, no. Stop! Calm down!" Jeff put his hand to her wrist, double checking her pulse. "Listen to me. Look, she's fine."

"Then why did they send a different serum?" I growled. Jeff said.

"Look, its over." Nick said, seeming surprisingly unaffected by the entire ordeal. "She's alive. She'll go through the Changing. You'll get her back in a day or two."

"You're kidding right?" Gally asked him, incredulous. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

"You don't know what'll happen to her head while she goes through that." He said. "She could be completely different when she wakes up. Hell, she got a different serum than we did. It might take a lot longer or be a lot shorter for her. For all we know, she might even be able to talk when she's done. We don't know what they're doing to her. But you can't just pretend like she doesn't exist for a few days and hope she survives."

We stared at him.

"What? You know I'm right." He said gruffly. He had said about five different things at once and none of them were improving my mood. Then, somehow, he misinterpreted my staring.

"Here, move, I'll take her to the tent." Gally said. I stopped him.

"No, I'll...I've got her." I managed. I looked at Jeff, who nodded. With a heavy heart, I carefully lifted Sam off the grass and carried her to the MedJack tent. Glancing at her every now and then, I couldn't help but notice that even after what she had just gone through she still looked like an angel. I pursed my lips, telling myself not to think about the fact that angels are dead. She was strong, she would make it...she had to.

* * *

 **AN: I know the Changing is kind of cliche for these types of stories, but it has a reason. I promise.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I know...it's been forever. I wanted to write a chapter for Newt next, but I'm terrible at writing for him and I wanted to make it good. I finally decided to just skip the chapter I was working on for him in favor of updating something I already had set up that was semi-decent. I'm so sorry, but to make up for it...the first of multiple changing-induced flashbacks!**

CHANGING FLASHBACK (SAM) 

I was younger, maybe ten or eleven, and I was sitting in a room with another boy with dark hair who looked about the same age. Suddenly, a fire alarm rang in the air. A voice came over the intercom telling everyone that it was a drill, to please not panic, and to make their way to the designated safe room. A supposedly fire safe room was made for each group and the scientists working on them. The boy stood up, and I followed him to the door. The hallway was flooded with people. He looked at me, then at the sea of people in the corridor.

"I don't want you to get lost and not be able to ask someone where to go. Give me your hand." He said. I rolled my eyes. "Sam." Begrudgingly, I let him take my hand. It was more like my wrist, really. He's being ridiculous, I'm not a five year old. The boy dragged me through the hallway and punched in the code to open a door at the end of the passage. Still gripping my arm, he led me to the back of the room. And now practically everyone working on Group A had seen him drag me around like a kindergartener. Irritated, I yanked my arm away from him. He scowled.

"We're here, aren't we?" He mumbled. I glared at him. He looked away, and for a moment he was silent. I crossed my arms, leaning against the wall. He leaned towards me.

"Thomas, I love you, you're the best person in the world." He said quietly in an oddly high pitched voice. I frowned.

" _You're mocking me_."

"Hey, that impression's spot on." He defended. I went on scowling. "See, there it is."

I looked around the room. Despite the fact that we were supposed to be quiet while they made sure everyone got to the right rooms, everyone was talking. Even the scientists were talking amongst themselves. It looked like they were comparing notes or something, but they weren't really enforcing the "stand still and shut up" rule that usually went with emergency drills. Then I noticed one of the boys towards the center kept looking back at me.

He was tall, with light blonde hair, and his eyes caught mine. Instantly, he looked away and started talking to the boy standing next to him. I recognized the other (Minho, I think his name was), but I didn't recognize him. He was dressed the same as Minho and must've been placed in the same group, but he had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder and across his chest. Glancing at Thomas, who was totally zoned out, I walked over to them. Minho (probably) looked at me and I heard the last part of their conversation.

"...coming over here. I told you to stop doing that." He muttered. They both looked at me. I walked up and stood next to the first boy. They glanced at me like they were waiting for me to say something, but I just stared ahead. Finally, the first one spoke up.

"I'm Newt." He said, then gestured to the other boy. "That's Minho." Minho nodded. I nodded.

"What's your name?" Newt asked. He was British, I realized. Not knowing what to do, I stared at him. I didn't think I would get this far. He looked confused, and I looked at the ground.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Minho muttered. I shrugged.

"You in trouble or something?" Newt asked. His tone was light, joking. "That friend of yours sort of dragged you in here." I grinned, but shook my head. Taking this as a good sign, he went on.

"Just checking. I've seen him with w.i.c.k.e.d...you too, come to think of it. I thought maybe-"

"Sam, I told you to stay with me." Thomas put his hand on my shoulder. Awesome. I glared at him.

"What, are you like, in charge of her or something?" Minho asked. Thomas ignored him.

"Okay, I didn't say it. But I thought it." Thomas corrected himself, still focused on me.

" _We were in the middle of a conversation and they're really cute._ " I signed, irritated. " _Go away._ "

"Actually, I don't think I will." Thomas grinned. "I don't care if you think they're cute or not." Thomas argued. I glanced back to find Newt and Minho grinning at each other. I groaned.

" _Why? Why would you say that_?"

" _And since when did you have any interest in guys anywa_ y?" He asked. Signed, thank god.

" _Since I found out we're not the only ones in the building under age fifty."_ I shot back _. "So if you'd shut up for a second, the two of us would actually be able to make some decent friends."_

" _Fine_." Thomas frowned, like he knew I was right but didn't want himself to be wrong. Newt (I think) tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around slowly.

"Not to be rude or anything," he began, which is never a good sign. "but are you-"

"No." Thomas, anticipating their question, cut him off. "She's mute, not deaf."

"Oh," Minho put in. "Well, I-"

"Subjects and staff members, the drill is now complete." The intercom announced. "Please return to your previous positions."

"Come on." Thomas grumbled. He took my hand and led me out the door. I yanked it away but kept following him. He checked, making sure I was still close behind him. I glanced over and Newt and Minho had fallen in step behind us. I made eye contact with them, then slipped into a corridor that branched off from the main hallway. Thomas would live, it's not like I could get lost. Well, I didn't think I would get lost. As I'd hoped, they followed me.

"We're not being creepy, I swear." Newt held his hands up defensively. I grinned. "It's just been a while since we've had someone new to talk to."

"Besides, you're pretty cute yourself." Minho winked. I smiled.

"He said your name's Sam, right?" Newt asked. I nodded.

"Oh, here." Newt reached into his bag, rummaging around. After a moment he pulled out a pen and was about to rip a page out of a small notebook, but thought better of it. He handed me the notebook.

"So is he like your translator, or did they give you a body guard?" Minho asked. I shook my head. I opened the cover of the notebook and wrote on the first page.

I held it out and they moved to see my writing. I couldn't make out what it said, but they seemed to understand. They considered this, and studied my face. Newt was looking at me strangely.

"They...they let you...you two see each other a lot, you work on the same projects?" He asked hoarsely. Confused, I nodded. Minho seemed confused as well, but then a look of understanding crossed his features. He looked at Newt sadly.

"It's not her fault, Newt." Minho said carefully. Newt, who suddenly looked upset, nodded curtly. Then he looked angry and frustrated. I frowned, wondering what I'd done to upset him. I started to write in the notebook he'd given me, but he shook his head.

"It's not...it wasn't your fault." He said stiffly. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go speak with someone." He grimaced and quickly walked away and down the corridor. I sighed sadly. I had no idea what I'd done to upset him, but it must've been awful. Minho looked hurriedly between me and the hallway Newt had gone down.

"I, um," He stammered. "Okay, I swear it's not your fault and he's not mad at you...specifically, but I should...I have to go. I'm sorry."

He looked down at the notebook in my hands. I held it out for him to take, but he shook his head.

"Keep it. It'll be your excuse to come by." He smiled slightly. "We're in Group A. Can you get away tomorrow?"

He didn't wait for my answer, but reached over and took the pen, writing a room number in the notebook.

"I have to go." Minho said. "I'll see you-"

"Sam!"

Thomas rounded the corner. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you serious? You totally freaked me out. We're gonna be late, you know." Thomas told me, frustrated. He looked at Minho, who gave me a slightly apologetic look before running off. I sighed. Thomas looked a bit pleased with himself, probably thinking he was the reason Minho had gone. I rolled my eyes. Thomas sighed.

"Come on Sam, we have to go."


	19. Chapter 19

**Newt POV**

It had been over a week. One awful, terrible week. And she hadn't moved. And neither had I. Because it should've been over by now. She should've been awake by now. At the very least, she should be moving. Not that any part of me wanted her to be screaming and thrashing like she was before, but now...Sam was as still as a corpse.

I watched her. Just in case. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed. She looked peaceful, though I doubted she was. It was worrying me. What if she stayed like this forever? I might never see her smile again.

I wish I had told her how much I loved her. I had the time to do it, the opportunities to do it and I hadn't said it. I was a coward. Selfishly, I think I had thought that maybe if I waited long enough to say it to her...maybe she'd be able to say it back. And just one word...it would've meant everything. But now I might never get the chance.

I could hear Nick talking to the Greenie as they passed by the Med tent. Jared, I think his name was.

"We've got four rules here." Nick started. "Follow them and you're good to go. Break one, and you'll find out just how bad the consequences can be. One, do your part. Everyone has a job, you do yours."

I've been with Sam so much I've been practically useless. I saw them stop in front of the tent, surveying the Glade. They didn't see me sitting inside. Nick, maybe, but he didn't say anything. He went on with his speech.

"Two, never harm another Glader. We've got order here. We don't want no shank throwing everything around."

In a near fit and looking for someone to blame, I had punched Minho square in the jaw. It was satisfying for about two seconds until I was almost dragged behind bars. I'd preached about order and I'd gone and punched Minho for putting Sam in danger. He hadn't truly deserved it, I'm sure, but it'd felt good to hear something crack. Even if that something was my hand. Bloody Runner's got a thick skull. I'd almost gotten thrown in the Slammer, but I squeezed out of it. I wanted to be here when she woke up. Which should've been days ago. The last boy that got stung only lasted four days. Counting today, Sam's been under for ten.

"Three, never go into the Maze. If it's not your job, it's a death sentence." Nick said.

I could've sworn I'd almost convinced Nick to let me go in to help but by then it was too late.

"Four...we've got someone in the Med tents. Sam. Touch Sam...in fact, go near Sam without asking Newt or one of the MedJacks...and you're done. Banished."

"Geez. What's wrong with him?" Jared asked. "Some kinda disease?" I tensed, praying Nick wouldn't tell him the truth. God knows, I didn't want the Greenie getting any ideas. There was a pause.

"I...we don't know." Nick replied. "But you better hope it never happens to you." I breathed a sigh of relief. For now, the real Sam would stay a secret. For now. Until we knew why she wasn't awake yet. But that was the final push.

Nick had avoided the truth because we didn't know how long she'd last.

* * *

CHANGING FLASHBACK

 **Sam POV**

I sat at a table in a library, staring at the book in front of me. To be honest, it wasn't a real library. It looked like a room where someone had just made to store all of their books, but there were a few tables set up and it was quiet. Away from testing zones. It was just me and a few others. Adults with suits or lab coats. I focused on the page I was meant to be reading.

 _Random errors are characteristics subjects bring with them to the study. They threaten internal validity because identifying and controlling random errors is not always possible._

"Sam." A voice whispered. I looked around, but didn't see anyone else and went back to my reading.

 _Systematic errors are mistakes made by the researcher. Random and systematic errors should be anticipated and accounted for before the experiment is run_

"Sam." The voice repeated. I glanced up again. Newt was sitting a table away. He grinned and waved at me. Confused, I waved back.

 _GH-i_ he spelled. I grinned. I had no idea what had happened before, but it he didn't seem like he was upset anymore. It felt good to think I'd made a new friend.

 _H-i_ I repeated. _I-s hi_

I signed hello, which is essentially a salute.

 _Hello_ he repeated. I gave him a thumbs up. He took a deep breath, like he was preparing to say a long sentence.

 _L-e-a-r-n-e-d...a-l-p-h-a-f-e-t_ he signed, watching his hands in concentration while he did so. He looked at me for approval. I smiled. Close enough. To be fair, f and b were a bit similar. He had probably only learned the alphabet, so I spelled my words slowly and carefully repeated the signs.

 _G-o-o-d_. I nodded. _Good_.

 _Good_. He repeated the gesture.

 _A-l-s-o-l-e-a-r-n...my name is n-e-w-t_ he added. I grinned.

 _I...k-n-o-w_. I responded. _I know_.

 _I know_.

Suddenly, his watch beeped. He looked down at it and frowned. Looking back at me, he gestured towards the door and stood. I motioned for him to stop, then got up and pulled his notebook from my bag. He nodded.

" _Thanks_." He signed. I grinned. He pursed his lips.

"Look, I...I'm sorry about the other day," Newt said quietly. "I just...freaked out. For reasons that I...I don't know how to explain it to you. At least, not here." He managed, shooting a furtive glance at the men in lab coats. I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion. It had been kind of a weird thing to run off like that. But it seemed personal and I wasn't going to press him on it. Not when this was only the second time I'd actually talked to him. Well, listened, I suppose.

" _It's fine_." I said. He might not have been able to read lips, I couldn't tell. But I think my expression was enough. He smiled. Then his watch went off again, louder. One of the scientists turned to look at him.

"Sorry." He muttered, then headed towards the door. He waved, and I waved back. Again. Newt left the library. Seeing no other option, I went back to my reading.

 _Necessary conditions for casualty: Relationship condition: Variables A_


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I'm trying to be consistent about when I put these up but I always get stuck on the endings. Sorry it was a bit of a wait. Read and review! Great reviews make my day!**

 **-Sir**

* * *

 **CHANGING FLASHBACK**

It was over a week later when I saw them again. Minho was standing outside someones open door, arguing with a tall, black haired boy. An angry one.

"Well, I don't care if you _thought you could handle it_ , it was my-" he stopped, staring at me. Glaring. Minho turned around.

"Sam!" He exclaimed, surprised. The other boy growled and slammed the door. Minho cringed at the noise.

"That's him for you." He muttered. Then he brightened. "Ditched your body guard?" He asked. I shrugged. I didn't have a way to talk to him. I had been on my way to see the other girl, Rachel, in her section of the facility and she could understand me. As far as I knew, Minho couldn't. When I didn't answer, he frowned.

"Right." He sighed. Then he grinned. God, this kid had mood swings. "Come on."

He grabbed my hand and opened the door to the room, the one that had just been slammed in his face. I squeaked in surprise as he led me through to the back of the room. I tried to take in what I could from the surroundings while attempting to keep up with his fast pace.

The room, larger than I thought it would be, was sparsely decorated but was clearly something akin to a dorm. Four beds were pushed against the walls, each standing next to a workspace with a desk. At the one closest to the entrance, the boy who had been arguing with Minho was reading a book. Surprisingly. He glared at us as we went past.

"Don't worry about that, Gally's just being a jerk cause we were partners for one of those training exercises earlier and he thinks I did it wrong."

"You did." Gally called. "And we're not supposed to have other people in here...not girls."

"Hasn't been a problem for you." Minho shot back. Gally scowled, and for a moment it looked like he was trying to say something, but he closed his mouth and, unable to think of a comeback, gave a sharp grunt before returning to his book. Instructional, I was sure. Then my attention was pulled away again.

The set farthest from the door was Minho's, or so I gathered from the way he started ransacking the area. Manuals and clothes and half a sandwich were scattered on his bed. Not to mention countless other garbage. God knows how he got food into his room. I tapped him on the shoulder.

" _How do you find anything in this disaster_?" I cringed. Minho frowned, trying to read my lips. I forgot he couldn't sign.

"How do I...maybe?" He managed. I sighed, but waved him off, gesturing for him not to worry about it.

"You deaf?" Gally called. I turned. He had put down his book and was watching me and Minho.

"Nope." He decided. Unsure of what to do, I looked back at Minho, who was searching for something. He opened three of his desk drawers before finding what he wanted. Triumphantly, he presented it to me. A marker. I raised an eyebrow.

"Here, help me move the desk." He said. It was then that I noticed the white board hidden behind the complete mess of things he had piled on his workspace. Shoving everything off with a sweep of his arm (and an insanely loud clattering noise), he motioned for me to move to the other side and we tried to push it away from the wall. Gally chuckled.

"What are you doing? It's bolted to the wall." He said. We stopped pushing.

"Helpful." Minho scowled. "I'm trying to use the whiteboard, stupid." Gally scowled. After watching Minho pile everything back onto his desk, Gally looked up again.

"You trying to talk to her or something?" He asked. Minho sighed.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to make her sit on the desk." He answered, resigned. Gally rolled his eyes, then stood and walked over to the area set up across from Minho's, banging on one of the drawers to get it to open. He pulled something out, then walked over and handed it to me.

"Here." He said. A notebook. Mine. Well, sort of. Gally walked back to his bed and picked up his book again.

" _Is this N-e-w-t-s_?" I asked, mouthing the words as I signed.

"Newts?" Minho asked. I nodded. "Yeah. He's in here too. That other bed's Henry's. you don't know him, do you?" I shook my head.

"He and Newt are the only ones who're organized. Sort of." He said. Minho sat down on his bed and motioned for me to do the same. I sat on the floor, not wanting to risk it. Minho frowned and looked at his bed, then seemed to understand how disgusting he was and tried to fix it by putting the sandwich in the trash. Then he sighed and sat across from me on the floor.

"You're in our group, right?" He asked. I nodded. "Then how come you and Thomas aren't with us?" He asked. I moved over so he could read my writing. Both of us were leaning against his bed.

"Man, your handwriting's tiny." He muttered I rolled my eyes, then wrote the answer to his question.

 _Not sure. "Subject advisors". Don't know technical term._ I wrote. He frowned.

"How do you advise if you can't talk?" He asked. I shrugged.

 _Don't know. We get tested too. Think it's just titles._ I answered. Minho nodded. Then he paused, like he was debating whether to ask his next question.

"Do you...how come you can't talk?" He managed. I bit my lip.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." He said. I started writing.

 _I just can't. Well, not_...I paused, thinking of the right way to phrase it. _It's hard. Around new people. And scientists. The only person I can really talk to is Thomas._

"But you can do the signing thing." Minho said. I nodded. He frowned.

"Is there...is there like a book I can use to...I just feel bad that you're writing everything out." He tried. I smiled slightly. Then noticed his watch

 _Ask Newt. Have to go._ I scribbled, then hurriedly got up and walked towards the door.

"Bye." Gally muttered from his bed, not looking up.

"Hey!" Minho called. I stopped for a second. "Can you come back?" He asked. "Tomorrow. At three."

I mentally reviewed my schedule, then nodded and left, heading towards the surveillance room.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: This took longer than I thought it would, but I hope you guys like it. Please enjoy...read and review!**

* * *

Someone screamed. I shot up, lurching forward. Finally realizing the screaming was coming from me, I stopped and promptly threw up in the nearest trash can. At least, I would've if there had been anything to throw up. God, I was starving. And tired. And I wanted water. Mostly to get the taste out of my mouth, but still.

I grabbed the glass of water on the table next to me, downing the entire thing. That was roughly when about five people ran in. It was also when I noticed there was a sort of divider placed around me, because they all burst through and it practically fell over. I jumped back in surprise, almost falling off the cot.

Alby, Clint, Jeff, Gally, and another boy I didn't recognize all stared at me in shock. I bit my lip, upset I had attracted all of their attention. But to be fair, screaming usually warrants attention.

" _Sorry_." I signed.

"You're awake." Alby stated bluntly. The other boy was staring at me. I nodded slowly. My head was killing me.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Jeff questioned. He seemed to be treading carefully. Too carefully for my liking. It felt like he was hiding something.

" _Pain. Yelling._ " I told him honestly. " _Dreaming_." Gally frowned.

"Can you stand?" He asked. I frowned.

"Look, can you do it or not?" Gally pushed. I started to stand up.

Then my legs gave out and I fell forward, almost slamming Jeff into the ground. Luckily he caught me and I straightened, using his arm for support. Jeff moved me back onto the cot. Gally raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be a no, then." He said.

"She's probably just weak." The other boy said. "But you can still hear, see, move everything-all your senses are fine?"

I nodded, then frowned.

" _Who are you_?" I asked him. He blinked.

"Your name." Alby told him. A look of understanding crossed his unfamiliar features.

"Oh, uh, I didn't mention it. My name's Henry. I'm a MedJack. I was the Greenie like...a month ago, I think? I was after Jared." He scratched the back of his head. I froze. A month..there was no way I'd been out for that long. That was impossible. And I didn't know who Jared was either. I shook my head. My head was spinning.

"Where's Nick?"

"What did she say?" Henry looked to Alby.

"Nick." Alby muttered.

"Nick?" Henry frowned. Oh god. Panicking. That's what's happening right now. In having a breakdown. Or I'm still dreaming. This is another nightmare. And I'll wake up. I stared at Alby. Seeming to read my expression, he looked at me solemnly.

"Sam, Nick...he's dead." Alby stated. "And there's other things I've got a feeling you won't find too nice either."

"What?" Instantly my hand flew to my throat. The voice was rough and raspy, but at a higher tone and obviously a girls. Obviously mine. Oh my god. The five of them stared at me, in just as much shock as I was.

"Did you just..." Alby started.

"Wait, why does she do the hand thing if she can talk?" Henry asked. Oh no. Don't do it, Sam. Breathe.

"We assumed she couldn't." Gally glared at me. Breathe.

"Say something else." Alby commanded. Damn it.

"Hey, you're not gonna hurl, are you?" Clint asked. Yes. They stepped back. Then I lunged for the trash can again. I had a feeling it would just be dry-heaving like the first time, but I wanted to be safe. I had a feeling vomiting on Henry would make a terrible first impression.

"She hasn't exactly been on a healthy diet." Clint frowned. "We should probably get her something."

"Do you know what dinner is?" Henry asked.

"What we should be asking is what will she be able to eat." Jeff pointed out. "If it's meat, that'll probably be too heavy for her." I coughed.

"H...H-how...l...long?" I asked, testing out my voice. It sounded terrible. I swallowed.

"How long what?" Gally asked. I bit my lip.

"Un-uncon-conscious." I managed, cringing at the sound of my voice. Rough and scratchy. Unused. I cleared my throat sharply.

No one answered. The five of us looked to Alby, who frowned.

"You know what, you'd take it better if I had someone else explain." Alby surmised. Great, now they're talking to me like I'm stupid.

" _You know what? Fine. Where's Newt_?" I signed angrily. Alby looked confused that I had switched back, then he frowned.

"He's...ummm." He started. I stared at him, trying not to panic. Seeing my expression, Clint instantly jumped in.

"No! No, he's, um he's on his walk." Clint explained. I relaxed.

"D-Don't...s-s-say-." I started.

"Maybe you should practice talking." Gally suggested. I scowled.

"Anyways, you should probably go on a walk too. Stretch your legs." Clint said.

"Come back though. You should be looked over. Just get some fresh air then come back, okay?" Jeff suggested. I bit my lip, then nodded. I stood. They watched me warily, determining whether I was about to fall over again. I rolled my eyes.

" _I'm fine._ " I signed, irritated. Forget focusing on switching back and forth, I'm just gonna do whatever the hell I want. I took another step and fell forwards, leaving Alby to catch me as I practically slammed into him. Gally snickered. I cringed. Alby grunted and pushed me back up.

"You do that again and I'll make you stay here until these shanks get you some crutches, you hear me?" He huffed. I nodded quickly. He watched as I left the tent. Slowly, I'll admit, but I didn't fall over. No way I'm letting them make me walk around with crutches. The five of them followed me out.

"Dinner'll be starting soon." Alby told me. "Show up and eat something." I nodded. All of them walked off, towards dinner for the most part. I scanned the Glade for Newt. Noticing blonde hair near the Gardens, I headed over. But as I got closer, something seemed wrong. It was Newt but he was...different, somehow. Getting a better look, I realized what it was.

He was limping.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Sorry it took a bit longer. The chapter is a bit longer though. I hope you like it!**

 **-Sir**

* * *

Two weeks earlier

Checking and rechecking that Minho hadn't followed me, I climbed the vines. They didn't reach the top of the wall. But it would be enough. It had to be enough. I took deep, shuddering breaths. I realized I was crying. But soon I would stop. Everything would stop. All I had to do was let go. I looked down. This would be a way out, a way to make everything that was causing me pain go away.

I heard footsteps. Someone was running towards me. I was sure it was Minho. I took a final breath, then closed my eyes...and let go of the vines.

"Newt!"

* * *

 **Newt POV**

I'd heard her scream. I assumed it was Sam, I didn't know of anyone else it could be. I would've rushed over, but at this moment it hurt too much. I could barely walk, I didn't know if I could take seeing her again right now. Not when I was this weak. The other day she'd started muttering in her sleep. Alby thought it might be a good sign; that she'd be waking up soon. It was the only thing she'd done in...well, a while. Not to mention it almost sounded like words, which made the rest of them think she might be able to talk when she woke up. But I couldn't do it. I had to stop getting my hopes up every time she so much as flinched. That was part of the reason they made me go out and walk around. It was a distraction. The other part...but I didn't want to think about that.

Someone placed their hand on my shoulder. I didn't bother looking up and shrugged him off. It had to be Jeff, he must want to know how my leg's feeling. He was starting to get on my nerves, him checking in every ten minutes like he thinks I'll go mental if I'm by myself. It'll never heal, there's no use in acting like it will.

"Bugger off, Jeff. I've still got to walk by the Gardens." I muttered. He grabbed my arm to turn me around. I moved to push his hand off.

"I said-" I stopped mid sentence. I blinked rapidly, frozen to the spot. It was not Jeff. It was most definitely not Jeff. It was Sam. I stared at her in shock. I couldn't believe this. It couldn't be real. This couldn't...her hand was still on my arm. My hand was still placed over hers. Sam was really awake. And she was standing in front of me.

"You're...I..." I managed. Bloody hell, it'd been too long since I'd talked to a girl.

Breaking out of my trance, I hugged her tightly. Sam wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in the crook of my neck. I kissed the top of her head, then moved back so I could look at her. She looked up at me, her lovely green eyes practically sparking in the sun. I gently guided her face up towards mine, then leaned down and kissed her, trying to put everything I felt for her into that one brilliant moment. Reluctantly, I pulled back. Unfortunately, breathing is important.

Sam was biting her lip. I smiled back at her. She was so bloody cute when she did that. Then I realized she must've been nervous. Had I done something to make her nervous? Sam looked at the ground, her loose, dark curls falling into her face. I brought her chin up and brushed her hair back, my hands on either side of her face. Sam took a deep breath.

"H-hi." She said. Said! Coming from her, it was the loveliest thing I'd ever heard.

"You...your voice..." I marveled. Her face fell.

"S-s-sorry..." Sam stuttered. She'd thought I didn't like it.

"No, No, I..." I'd wanted to hear her voice for so long and now that I had, all I wanted to do was cover her mouth. Not being able think of the words, I pulled her in closer and crashed my lips against hers in a bruising kiss. After a moment of surprise, she returned the affection. Bloody hell, I'd missed her so much. I'd missed...this, truthfully. Then (reluctantly, I'll definitely admit that again) I pulled away. Only just enough for me to rest my forehead on hers. Her arms were against my chest, her hands on my neck.

"Sam?" I spoke up. Her gorgeous green eyes gazed up at me. I grinned.

"Newt?" She replied. My smile grew wider. Hearing my name come from her lips was the most perfect thing I could've imagined. I wanted to kiss those lips again so much.

"Your-your voice is-it's beautiful." I murmured. A blush rose to her face at the compliment. I loved making her blush.

"And you sound a right lot better than I did just now." I whispered. Sam bit back another smile.

She laughed softly. I'd missed her laugh. I'd almost forgotten it. I moved one of my hands to her lower back, about to pull her in for another kiss.

"Hey Newt, are you-oh, sorry." Unwillingly, I stepped back from Sam. It was Henry, the new MedJack. Henry looked at Sam.

"So that's where you went." He said. Sam nodded, her smile lighting up her face. God, I'd missed her smile.

"I couldn't really read the...the signals thing, but I guess he was who you were asking about. I mean, I got like a couple words but..." He drifted off.

"You were asking about me, were you love?" I teased Sam, who blushed. I loved making her do that. I wrapped my arms around her. Sam relaxed into my arms and I rested my head on top of hers. She was still here. She was awake. Henry smiled.

"Sorry for..." He started, then shook his head. "Dinner's about ready. You two loveshanks better get in there before the Runners come back and eat everything on the tables."

Henry headed off to dinner. I glanced down at Sam. I moved to look at her.

"He's right, we should get some food in you." I told her. "Come on, then."

I took her hand and we walked towards dinner. Then I stopped her.

"Wait, before we go in..." I paused, unsure how to phrase my next words. I didn't know if she knew how long she'd been in a unconscious.

"How long do you think you've been...out?" I asked her. She frowned.

"The way Henry was talking, at least a month." She answered dismally. I sighed softly. I would've liked to hear her voice again. If we're being honest, considering it was new to her she probably forgot she could talk. Or maybe she was just starting with smaller sentences. Or maybe it hurt. I didn't want her to talk if it hurt. But she didn't know, and that was another problem.

"Um, well, yes-it was a bit more than that, I'll get to that, but I...listen, what I was trying to say is," I stumbled. "There are some...look, Alby and I thought it best not to mention you to the Greenie just in case they got the wrong idea. Not to say that it was some big secret but I just wanted you to be-aware, I suppose, of how he might react when we-when they see you." I finished. She stared at me. I'd been rambling. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. She pursed her lips.

"Why are you so worried about Henry? He seems nice." Sam asked.

"What?" I questioned, confused. "What's wrong with Henry?"

"Newt...how long was I...out?" Sam tried, upset. I swallowed.

"Well," I started. "If you think about it, the numbers are really small. I mean, one...what's one? It's not that big. It comes after two-I mean, before two...sure, if you're looking at strictly numbers you could say it's a bit less than two, but really. I mean...two months? What are we even-"

"Two months?" She exclaimed. I winced.

"Barely." I confessed, watching her for another bad reaction. "We get the next Greenie tomorrow."

Sam stared at me, taking it all in, then she nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was quiet for a moment.

"Yes." I answered. "And now we've got Jared and Henry. You've only met Henry and I can only hope you avoid meeting Jared...actually, come to think of it, I think he goes by Jerry or something weird like that, I don't..." I trailed off.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" I guessed. She nodded. "I don't know, maybe he just likes...oh. You probably meant...let's just say he's not very nice. To put it nicely." I responded. "Are you up for dinner? You should eat."

"A-l-b-y said dinner was _." Sam answered. "So yes." I blinked. I'd gotten rusty and I missed the last few words. Not to mention the switching around was a bit off-putting.

"Good. Brilliant." I managed. Then I took her hand again and the two of us walked through the doors.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Sorry it's a bit late. You can blame mild writers block for the delay. Enjoy, read, and review!**

 **-Sir**

* * *

Two months. I'd been gone for two months. It didn't feel like two months. It couldn't have been two months. Two months.

"Sam?" Newt's voice interrupted my internal mental breakdown.

"Are..are you doing alright?" He asked. His voice was careful and gentle, as though he thought if he spoke to loudly I would shatter into a million pieces. He'd started being careful and cautious and watching me move and eat to make sure I was doing alright. Alright meaning not mentally disturbed.

That was to be expected, I suppose. For all he knows, I could lose it out of nowhere. Not to mention I've only been "back" for about fifteen minutes. I glanced around at everyone eating dinner, looking for the new boy Newt had mentioned. I saw someone I didn't recognize, but he was looking at me before I looked at him. He was kind of creeping me out. Newt noticed, and scowled.

"That's Jared. Don't go near him. He's a right bastard, I expect he'll be worse around you." He answered. I raised an eyebrow.

" _You know, I don't think I've heard you swear."_ I commented. Newt looked indignant.

"I swear all the time, what do you mean?" He protested.

" _Bloody doesn't count. It's adorably_ _B-r-i-t-i-s-h._ " I concluded.

"That's a real swear. And I'm not adorable." Newt pouted. I smiled. He really wasn't helping his case.

"O-of c-course not _._ " I grinned.

...

The next day, a sharp ringing noise pierced the afternoon air...and I jumped out of my skin. Newt chuckled. We had been taking a walk around the Glade.

"Are you alright, love?" He asked.

I turned to look towards the sound of the alarm.

"Wh-What was-" I started, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the noise, then cleared my throat sharply. I winced. Talking didn't really hurt, but it was rough because I hadn't spoken in ages. I wasn't used to it.

"It's the Greenie alarm." Newt said, saving me from trying to finish the rest of my sentence. "The new boy's coming up from the Box. You don't remember the sound?" I shook my head.

"Come on." Newt started heading towards the sound and I followed him, confused. We stopped at the edge of the gathering that had begun forming around what, although I couldn't see, was presumably the Box.

"I'll be right back." Newt disappeared through the crowd. I frowned. The alarm was louder from here, closer to the Box. I moved to cover my ears, but someone grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front of the crowd. I squeaked in surprise, then heard laughing. Newt smirked at me, his eyes full of laughter. He still hadn't let go of my hand. I rolled my eyes at him, then lightly nudged him in the ribs, annoyed.

"Did I scare you?" He asked, still smirking. I let go of his hand and crossed my arms.

"Maybe." I mumbled, not looking at him. Newt bit his lip, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh again. "Not f-funny." I grumbled. Newt smiled. He looked down at the Box, then his face fell slowly. He looked at me.

"You know, we might want to wait and give the guy a chance to adjust before he sees you." He spoke nervously. I raised an eyebrow. He looked like was about to defend himself, but then he just pursed his lips.

"The Greenie's already going to be mental from being in there and I don't want you hurt. Being the only girl, you'll likely just make him even more nervous. Don't you think it's best you wait until he's...calmed down a bit?" Newt said as he led me out of the crowd. I was about to protest, then I realized he was probably right. I didn't want get knifed or something by the new kid.

I sucked in a deep breath, then let out a short puff of air, frustrated. But I nodded. Newt smiled and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you." He said softly. I sighed, then gave him a half hearted wave and pushed back away from the Box.

I walked up to the Homestead and stood by the door. I cast a look back towards the Box. It was likely better this way, easier. I'd go and say hi to the new kid once he'd calmed down. It's not like he'd be anything special, so what was the point anyways?

Resigned to watching from a distance, I sighed and leaned against the wall of the building.

"Don't like crowds?"

I jumped, then turned towards the voice. Jared. I shrugged.

"Me neither." He said. "Not that you'd be much use over there anyways."

"Wh-What?" I scowled. He smirked.

"You'd probably just get in the way." He said. "Girls aren't good for much, hon. That is, besides...well." His eyes ran over me, slowly taking in my entire figure. I tried not to feel self conscious. "There's a few things I can think of."

"I'm...ex-excuse me?" I tried to calm down. It was worse when I was angry. Jared rolled his eyes.

"I mean, they could've at least sent us one that knew how to talk, but...I'm willing to overlook that _annoying_ little problem of yours. Besides, we could be the last people on earth. It'd be our job to, uh... _repopulate_ , if you know what I mean." He winked. I made an effort not to look like I wanted to shoot him. Everyone was still gathered around the box, though from what I could tell the Greenie had finally arrived. I glanced around, looking for someone that could come by and save me from this conversation.

"No one's around, babe." He said suggestively, misinterpreting my action. "How about you and I take a break and go do it in the Deadheads? It's not like your little boyfriend's gonna show up any time soon." Somehow interpreting my expression as a go-ahead, Jared leaned forward and closed his eyes. Admittedly not my best course of action, I panicked and punched him. Likely due to the element of surprise, he fell to the ground.

"You little bitch." He groaned. I scowled and walked off, heading towards the Slammer, figuring maybe Alby'd go easy on me if I walked myself in instead of making him track me down when Jared complained about me. I looked back, but he was dumb enough not to follow. Thank god too, because if he had been smart enough to realize he was half a foot taller and had probably fifty pounds on me he might've actually put up a fight. He probably could've knocked me out. God, I'm an idiot.

In hindsight, I probably could've just walked away, but I was too shocked by what he was saying to think straight. I shook my head, trying to clear it. Considering what he'd said, it was worth it. Punching might've been a bit of an overreaction, but I don't want him going any further.

Realizing that when Alby found out I might be locked up for a while, I turned and walked to the kitchen. I mean, since I woke up I haven't actually felt hungry yet, but...just in case. I glanced back to make sure Jared wasn't planning to attack me, but he was heading towards the MedJacks. Stomping more like it, he was seething.

I snuck into the kitchen. Stealing an apple, I let myself in the Slammer and sat down. A short while later, presumably after they had calmed down the new kid, the door opened. I looked up. Newt, Alby, and Jared stood in the doorway. Jared with a bandage stuffed in his nose. I snorted.

"Explain yourself." Alby demanded. I frowned.

" _Jared's an asshole._ " I answered. Newt raised an eyebrow.

"I said, explain." Alby repeated. Jared seemed to understand I had insulted him and resumed his earlier death glare.

"Sam, all we know is Jared's side and he said you two were just talking then you punched him out of nowhere." Newt stated. "Unless that's what happened, which I doubt, you need to give us a reason."

Jared scowled at him.

"J-J-Jared said th-th-that...I-I..." I answered, still angry.

"Would you rather sign?" Newt asked. I shook my head.

" _I don't want to say it out loud and have...it was inappropriate and offensive_." I replied. " _Offensive to me specifically, I might add._ "

"She doesn't what?" Jared asked Alby. After a moment of indecisiveness, I stood up. Walking to Newt, I pulled him away from Alby and told him what Jared had said. Once I had finished, he was clenching his jaw so hard I thought his teeth might crack. He was angrier than I thought he'd be.

"What the bloody hell made you decide to say that to her?" Newt exploded. "You can't possibly say that was unprovoked!"

"I'm not letting her out until I get a straight answer from her." Alby said firmly. Newt glared at him.

"Sam was perfectly within her right. He was being extremely offensive and if Jared had said that about her to my face I would've aimed much lower than his nose." Newt responded. Jared growled. I made a serious effort not to look accomplished.

"He didn't physically hurt her and she punched him first." Alby looked at me. "You're spending the night in the Slammer."

Jared looked smug. Newt looked angry as well as personally offended. Going off Alby's expression, it seemed like this kind of stuff had happened with Jared so many times before that he just didn't care anymore.

"Alby, you can't side with him. Trust me." Newt insisted.

"And you can't preach about order then try to let your girlfriend off easy." Alby retorted. "She stays."

He had a point. But it was still Jared's fault.

I'd have to wait until tomorrow to meet the new Greenie.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: I know this took twice as long as it should have, but I had all these bits and pieces that I didn't know how to put together until now. My deepest apologies, but I think _this_ particular bout of writers block is done with. I've got the next chapter done, if I get enough reviews I might post it later this week. Sorry for the wait!**

* * *

"Sam?"

I groaned and opened my eyes, then shrieked and scrambled back when I saw someone less than a foot away. Newt fell over and put his hands up defensively.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He managed. "I'm sorry. It's just, I knocked and I called for you and you weren't waking up."

" _It's okay_." I sat up and shrugged. " _I wasn't sleeping very well anyways_."

"Are you alright?" He asked cautiously. "You don't...you don't feel any different or anything, do you?" I shook my head.

"Good, that's...that's good." He cleared his throat. "Er...breakfast?" He said hopefully. I nodded. He stood, then helped me up and we walked out of the Slammer. I put my hand on Newt's arm.

" _Hey, what time is it_?" I asked. Newt looked at his watch.

"Around 8:30, why?"

" _I just wanted to know if I could see_ -"

Screaming pierced the air. In what was probably an overreaction, I instantly let go of Newt and clapped my hands over my ears. It was too loud. Much too loud. I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

* * *

 _Refusing to move, he stood frozen with terror as the terrifying monster retracted into the box. Then he broke. The young boy fell and was crying on the ground, sobbing, his face hidden in his knees as he huddled against the wall._

"You mean a recording, don't you?" _I asked, horrified._

 _"Unfortunately no. I think it's best he goes through this again."_

 _The boy raised his head. Minho looked through the glass, tears streaming down his face._

* * *

 **Sam**

 _Sam_

"Sam!" Newt was staring at me, deeply concerned. His hands were on my shoulders. Gingerly, he reached up and brought my hands away from my ears. I stared back at him. I felt myself working to calm down and regain control of my breathing. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

"He's stopped." Newt told me. "Do...Do you want to go lie down?" I shook my head. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Newt looked worried.

"One of the Runners must've gotten stung." He said gravely. It was only 8:30, they can't have gone far. There was a Griever this close to the entrance? He started towards the MedJack tent and I followed him. He looked back at me.

"Maybe you shouldn't..." Newt started, then saw my expression. "Alright, fine. Just so you know who it is. After that you shouldn't be in there."

 _"Oh, but you can be in there?"_ I responded. Newt smirked.

"Well, love, I happen to be second in command." He straightened. "So as a matter of fact, yes. I can do what I like." I raised an eyebrow.

 _"That's not a real job."_

"It is! And it's true!" He defended. A strange expression flashed across his face, but it was gone in an instant. I looked at him. "Oh, come on then. Let's get it over with." He took my hand and all but dragged me to the tent. Even though he was a bit slower now with his limp, which he still hasn't talked to me about, I was still a bit weak and his legs were still longer than mine. Not to mention I just woke up.

We entered the tent to find people bunched around someone on one of the cots. Clint. Jeff. Alby. Minho. I breathed a sigh of relief. Minho was okay. Newt and I walked up to them, joining the small crowd. As we got closer, I saw who it was. And I saw Gally holding him down as he thrashed around on the cot, his movements becoming slower and sluggish until the serum took effect and he finally passed out. I felt sick.

"Right, you know who it is, I don't want you in here any longer than you should be. You're starting to look a little pale, love. I knew this was a bad idea. Let's get you some air." Newt put his hands on my shoulders and started to lead me out.

"You heard him, huh?" Minho, hearing Newt's voice, turned. "Poor Benny's gonna be-" he froze, suddenly realizing I was standing next to Newt. Grinning, he practically jumped me and tackled me in a hug. Unprepared, I stumbled and fell backwards. Both of us fell over. Minho landed on top of me. He pushed himself up so he didn't hurt me.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized. "I just missed you a lot, I didn't think you would fall over."

"G-Get o-off me." I groaned. Caught off guard, Minho lost his bearings and fell on top of me. I coughed. Despite him being a small child at heart, it felt like a small elephant was sitting on my chest.

"All right, that's enough. Get off her." Newt says tersely. Minho rolled off me, then stood and helped me up. I brushed my jeans off.

"You can talk now?" Minho grinned. I nodded. "Awesome!" He looked at Newt. "Sorry, man."

"Look, she hasn't eaten breakfast so we should-"

"Hey, have you met the new Greenie yet?" Minho asked. "Cause I heard you got thrown in the Slammer yesterday and I wanted to go see you but then Chuck wanted to tag along and I didn't want to come at you with a bunch of people and the new kid was totally losing his-"

"Breathe, shank." Newt said. Minho looked at him and took a slow, deliberate breath.

"We're going for breakfast, are you coming?" Newt asked.

"Duh." He said. "Second breakfast is the second most important meal of the day."

With a final glance back at Ben and the others, we walked towards the Homestead. We were about to walk through when someone practically ran into us.

"Oh, sorry man." The Greenie ran a hand through his dark hair. Then stumbled forward as someone else ran into him.

"Sam!" Chuck hugged me, moving past the Greenie. I grinned, ruffling his hair. He pulled back and gave a little frown.

"I know you're up and around and stuff but that's still not cool." He grumbled. I laughed. He looked like a kid pouting because their toy got taken away. I looked up at the new kid. He was staring at me, but it was different. He seemed...curious. Newt cleared his throat.

"Sam, this is Thomas. Thomas...Sam." Newt looked at me, smiling. I waved at the Greeenie.

"Hi, I'm Thomas." He said. Thomas held out his hand and I took it

...

 _"We're here, aren't we?" He mumbled. I glared at him, then crossed my arms, leaning against the wall. Thomas leaned towards me._

 _"Thomas, I love you, you're the best person in the world." He said quietly in an oddly high pitched voice. I frowned._

"You're mocking me." _I signed._

 _"Hey, that impression's spot on." He defended. I smiled slightly. Thomas nudged me. "See, there it is."_

...

"Sam?" Newt waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked. I must've zoned out for a second. I looked down and immediately let go of Thomas' hand, embarrassed.

" _Sorry_." Thomas looked at me.

"Is...is she deaf?" He asked.

"Actually-" Newt started.

"No, hey, wait. I think I got this." He looked at me.

"Umm... _Hi. My name is T-h-o-m-a-s_." He signed. Incredibly slowly, to be fair, like he was struggling to remember the right words. And spoke, but that wasn't the important part. Newt and I stared at him. What I had seen during the Changing...It could've been real. Because I knew his face. But it didn't make sense. What I had seen before, through all of it, were they real memories?

"What, did I do it wrong? Oh, uh, _sorry_." He said.

"No, no, you were fine it's just..." Newt trailed off. Alright, time to see how much he knew.

 _"I'm not deaf, I'm mute. Or at least, I was. I can sort of talk, I just stutter a lot and it's really hard so I kind of prefer to just...sign. When it's longer. I'm still working on it."_ I managed, signing the entire thing to see if he understood. His eyebrows had furrowed in concentration while I spoke.

"Oh, okay." Thomas said. Newt frowned.

"You...you got all that?" Newt clarified. Thomas nodded.

"Yeah." Then he raised an eyebrow. "You got all of that too?"

"Yes." Newt said coldly. I frowned.

 _"We should get some breakfast."_ I told Thomas. _"See you around."_

Newt and I started to walk to our table. We sat down, then I nudged him so he would look at me.

"Yeah?" He sighed.

 _"What was that about?"_ I asked, confused. " _You were acting kinda weird."_ He pursed his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I just...I don't really trust him, is all." He muttered. I raised an eyebrow.

 _"You just met him yesterday. I'm sure it's fine."_ I said. Newt sighed.

"It's not him, I...well, it is him, it's just that he..." Newt trailed off, digging his hands further into his pockets. I raised an eyebrow.

" _Is something wrong?_ " I asked.

"No." He decided. "Nothing."


	25. Chapter 25

I watched Sam struggle to stay awake as she helped us in the Gardens. It's been two days and I don't think she's slept well since she woke up. Yesterday I found her taking a shower at five in the morning. I ran my hand under the shower while it was still running and it must've been the coldest bloody water that's ever come out of there.

After she got out she was shivering like mad. Even worse, she had chosen to leave her clothes on and they were soaking. Sam insisted she'd had a nightmare and thought the cold would keep her awake for the rest of the day but I honestly think she was so tired she forgot to take them off before turning on the water. In the end I made her dry off and gave her the spare set of clothes I kept away in one of the boxes.

As for now, she looks as though she could keel over at any second. Not to mention she was drowning in my shirt. It would've been cute if she didn't look so miserable. On the bright side, we managed to find another pair of her jeans. Good thing too, because I haven't got an extra belt. I kneeled down to where she was attempting to pull weeds and placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped, whipping her head towards me.

"Yes? What?" She asked frantically.

"Love, you really need to get some rest." I told her. "You're dead on your feet."

"Oh." She looked down. She was upset. I frowned.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked. She nodded.

"You know you can tell me if you're not." I offered. Sam refused to look at me, playing with the loose green thread at the edge of her sleeves. Well, my sleeves. I reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You made me put her with you, now work, shanks!" Zart called out. Sam's head snapped up and she looked quickly over at Zart, then to me. She bit her lip and went back to the weeds, this time with a bit more vigor. There was a cute, determined little expression on her face. I smiled slightly.

* * *

I woke up to the mattress moving. I opened my eyes just enough, if Sam was just moving around I didn't want her to know she'd woken me up.

I watched her stand and go out the door, then heard her go down the stairs. After waiting a moment, I followed her out of the Homestead. We still weren't entirely sure what state she was in, I wanted to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Or anyone else, for that matter.

I walked out to find Sam walking towards one of the walls. Confused, I walked up behind her.

"You should be asleep." I said. She jumped, startled.

"S-so should y-you." Sam mumbled. She reached out and ran her hand over one of the vines and looked up towards the top of the wall. I grimaced, glancing down at my leg. Nothing happening right now was bringing up any pleasant memories.

"W-Why are y-you up?" She asked.

"Like I said, you should be asleep." I echoed. Sam flinched.

"Not t-t-tired." She said quickly. Too quickly, I might add. I pursed my lips. I moved forward and leaned against the wall so I could see her face. Liar. She was still having trouble sleeping, I should've stayed awake with her. I sighed.

"Sam, it's been almost three days." I said sternly. "I'm honestly surprised you can still think straight."

Sam looked confused. She blinked and looked around. I frowned and looked around. Nothing.

"I just..." I stumbled. "Alright, that's it. Come on."

She'll thank me later. She might be a little upset with me right now, but she'll thank me later. I'm not letting her go completely mental from lack of sleep. I grabbed her hand and marched towards the Homestead, pulling her after me. Sam stumbled and I slowed my pace after she almost fell forward. Not that I could go very fast to begin with.

I dragged her up the stairs to our room, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was a bit difficult considering Sam was barely moving her legs, but I was careful not to slam the door behind us. We stopped and stood next to the bed. Sam stared at me, her brilliant green eyes dull from exhaustion.

"This has gone on far enough." I stated, upset. "You're practically dead, you're completely miserable, and I can't just stand here watching someone I love go bloody mental!"

Sam's eyes were wide. For a moment she blinked rapidly, like she was trying not to cry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have exploded. Not while she was like this. I sighed, frustrated. I sat down on the bed.

"I'm sorry I shouted. But the two of us are going to sit up here and neither of us is going anywhere until you've gotten a night of sleep. Do you understand?" I asserted.

"Yes." she breathed. Bloody hell. What happened in the last three seconds that made her change her mind after three days of avoiding sleep? I didn't scare her, did I? I hope I haven't scared her.

"Brilliant." I managed. Sam sat down across from me. We stared at each other. I couldn't stand this. The silence was almost as deafening as the tension. And it was my fault. I had to do something.

"I win."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You blinked. I win." I replied matter of factly. That clearly wasn't the response she had expected. I watched her bite back a laugh. At least I knew she wasn't mad at me. I leaned forward.

"You're not taking this competition seriously." I grinned. "I call for a rematch. That is, if you think you can handle it."

Sam leaned closer. I closed my eyes.

"Alright, ready?" I asked. For a moment it was quiet. Knowing her, she'd forgotten my eyes were closed and had nodded her head.

"Uh huh."

"Good. Close your eyes too or I'll have an advantage." I waited for her to close her eyes. "Now, on the count of three...one...two...three."

I moved a bit closer. We opened our eyes. After about twelve seconds my eyes were burning. This was my idea, I'm not losing. Sam bit her lip. I blinked.

"I w-win." Sam grinned, leaning back against the headboard. I frowned.

"It's not my fault you bloody cheated." I grumbled. She had the nerve to laugh. She knew exactly what she did.

"H-how?" Sam asked. I froze. There's not a good way to explain myself, is there? I swallowed.

"Um...I just...well, you did." I finished quickly. Sam rolled her eyes, still smiling.

"R-rematch...th-th-then." She challenged. I grinned.

"Alright, but if you do that again I win by default." I moved closer again so she didn't need to lean forward.

"Do w-what?" Sam questioned, frowning. I groaned, exasperated. She bites her lip when she frowns too.

"Never mind." I muttered. It's got to be unconscious, if it's not she's intentionally driving me mental.

"Okay...th-then." Sam stated. "Re-ready?"

"Ready as ever." I confirmed. Sam closed her eyes. I grinned, keeping my eyes open. I was getting her back.

"O-one...tw-"

I cut her off, surging forward and pressing my lips against hers. After a moment of surprise, she kissed me back. My hands pulled her closer as hers found their way to my neck. It escalated until I...suddenly I stopped and moved back. She frowned. I sighed.

"I brought you back to our room so you could get some sleep, Sam." I said. "Just...please just try and...and get some sleep." She pursed her lips, then nodded. Slowly, I laid back down on the bed and she curled up next to me as I wrapped my arm around her.

"Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Sorry it's a bit behind schedule. There are also a lot of linebreaks in this one so you guys gotta bear with me. Enjoy, and please leave reviews!**

* * *

Sam POV

The bonfire burned bright and seemed intensely hot in the dark and cold of the evening. It was supposed to be days ago, but with everything happening with Ben, it had been pushed off. I sat on a bench near the edge, half heartedly scanning the crowd for Newt even though I didn't think I'd find him. I had been with him earlier, but he had been pulled aside to talk to Alby and now he was nowhere to be found. I was tired and there were too many people here. I was away from the others, but I could see the fire. I stared into it, taking in the warm glow of the embers.

"Your bodyguard ditch you?" Someone asked. I turned with a start, then relaxed.

"Newt, I mean." Thomas smiled slightly. "You're standing here all by yourself, don't you like the party? Or are you feeling a little overwhelmed." I gave him a small smile.

" _It's for you, T-h-o-m-a-s. Go celebrate_." I tried convincing him. I yawned. I'm too exhausted to sign. This isn't worth it. He frowned.

"I saw you when Chuck and I came by the Gardens earlier. You've been doing that all day, didn't you get any sleep?" Thomas asked. I waved him off. It's not his fault I keep having insomnia. Or that when I finally do fall asleep I keep waking up in the middle of the night.

"I...I-I'm good." I rubbed my eyes.

"No, you're not." Thomas decided. "I get that it's a party or something, but you look like you need some rest."

"Gee, th-thanks." I muttered sleepily. Thomas chuckled. He was right though. I was tired. But I couldn't fall asleep. I couldn't.

Thomas snapped his fingers in front of my face and I jerked back. That was when I realized I'd been leaning on his shoulder. I frowned and sat up again.

"S-Sorry." I managed. I could feel myself starting to drift off.

"Sam, you should go get some sleep." Thomas stated.

"Sure, j-just...a-after this next f...fight." I sighed. That was a useless excuse, I could barely see the ring from here. But I could hear it, and maybe that was enough to convince him.

"If you're gonna be like that, then fine." He frowned. His voice sounded distant. "But I'm making sure you get up and go get some sleep after this."

"What...whatever." I yawned.

"You just proved my point." He concluded. Then he stared ahead and watched the fire, listening to the fight.

* * *

Newt POV

"Do you know where Thomas is?" Chuck asked. I shook my head.

"No, sorry. You haven't seen Sam, have you?" I scanned the crowd of Gladers. I'd lost her when Alby had pulled me away to talk about Ben's replacement on the Runners and now she was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, over there. I think." Chuck answered, pointing. I relaxed slightly.

"Thanks." I replied. I walked off to where he'd directed me. Then I found her. And Thomas. I frowned.

"Oh, good." Thomas said, seeing me approach them. He glanced at Sam. "Look, I don't know what to do. She was just really tired and I didn't want to wake her. You don't know where she sleeps, do you?"

"I..." I started. I couldn't stop looking at them.

Sam had fallen asleep. He'd only been here for a few days and she'd fallen asleep on him. I couldn't get her to fall asleep and he'd done it in what must've been ten minutes. She shifted, falling from his shoulder. Reflexively, Thomas caught her and laid her head down gently into his lap. He bit his lip, frowning.

"I'll take her." I answered tersely. I kneeled down and carefully picked her up. Thomas stood and stretched.

"Thanks, man. I just didn't want to wake her up, you know?" He explained. "She was practically dead while I was talking to her, I thought I should let her rest." I nodded.

"Good that." Sam shifted, her head moving to rest against my chest. I smiled at her. Then I remembered Thomas. Thomas who was already biting his lip again. I frowned. He was starting to remind me of Sam.

"It's you we're celebrating, Tommy." I told him. "I heard Chuck's looking for you, go have fun. I'll take care of Sam."

Thomas looked as though he was about to say something, then shook it off.

"Alright." He walked off. With Sam in my arms, I walked up to our room and placed her gently on her cot, pulling the blanket over her. I kissed her forehead, then softly walked back out of the room.

* * *

I came back in a bit later, the bonfire having ended. I would've stayed with Sam, but I wanted to make sure no one (mainly Gally) tried to beat up the Greenie. When I returned, Sam was awake. Wide awake. She had moved and was on my bed, sitting against the headboard and hugging her knees. She looked incredibly upset. I frowned, worried.

"Sam? What's happened?" I checked. Instantly she looked up, staring at me. I went over and sat down next to her, taking her hands in mine. She almost looked like she had been crying. She was practically trembling. Sam shook her head. She was looking at me as though she thought I was about to disappear.

"You...you're okay." She muttered. Her shudders lessened slightly and she squeezed my hands. "I...it...it's o-okay. You're okay."

"I'm perfectly fine." I assured her. What about you?

"Uh huh. F-Fine." She answered, her words wavering. Her response was so quiet I almost didn't hear her voice.

"I know that's not true, Sam. You're nearly in tears. What's happened?" I asked softly. Sam looked at me like she was about to give me a real answer, then shook her head again. I let go off her hands and she looked panicked until I wrapped my arms around her. She wouldn't make eye contact but her breathing became less frantic; more relaxed.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." I told her. Sam looked up at me but choked on her words and buried her face in my chest, her hands clutching my shirt. I kissed the top of her head.

"It's okay." I said softly into her hair. "I'll stay with you...if you want. I promise."

* * *

 **Sam POV**

 **I was in the Maze, on top of one of the walls it looked like. I took a deep breath. The height was making me feel dizzy. The picture was off, as though I was watching through a bad surveillance camera. It zoomed in on a figure on one of the walls.**

 **I tried to call out to him but I couldn't make any sound. What was he doing? He shouldn't be up there, he could fall. What was he doing? He had reached as far as he could go. The vines didn't reach the top of the wall but even a fall from that height would be enough to...no. He couldn't.**

 **I heard footsteps. Newt looked frantically towards the noise. He closed his eyes, took a final breath, and let go of the vines. He ankle caught in the vines as he fell, and he was jerked to a stop before the vine snapped. Minho rounded the corner, just in time to see him crash to the ground.**

 **"Newt!"**

 **I could hear screaming again.**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: there are a lot of POV changes in this one and I feel like it doesn't really make sense but this was originally two separate pieces and I felt like that was too short after you guys waited a little longer than normal. I hope it makes sense to you guys!**

* * *

 **Sam POV**

"Goodnight, love." Newt wrapped himself around me. Automatically, I relaxed. Then my previous worries returned. It hadn't gone so great the last time I was asleep, and even that was just about the understatement of the century. What if I had a nightmare and I hurt him in my sleep? What if I wasn't finished with the changing, what if when I woke up I couldn't talk anymore, what if...what if I didn't wake up. I tried to control my breathing. Just sleep, it'll be fine. It'll be fine.

After what must've been an hour or two, I clearly was not fine. I couldn't sleep, I was terrified. Of sleeping, of nightmares...in general, truthfully. I could tell Newt was asleep. He's started breathing through his mouth instead of his nose. At least he seemed peaceful. I made my decision. Carefully, I slipped off the cot. Newt frowned, his arm shifting in his sleep. He'd noticed I'd gotten up. He shouldn't be this cute, it wasn't fair. I leaned down and kissed his cheek. The frown faded. I smiled slightly, then left the room as quietly as possible.

Outside, I crept past the others. They were still sleeping. Of course they were, I doubted it was later than midnight. I looked down to check my watch. 1:16. That was when I noticed I'd left my boots in the Homestead. I could almost feel the grass through my socks. I walked farther towards the center of the Glade and laid down in the grass. I was exhausted, but I was definitely not going to sleep. I'll just...relax. Or try to, anyway. I looked up at the starless sky. An expanse of blue so dark it was almost black. Maybe there just weren't any stars left.

I tried to remember constellations. To remember anything really. I searched my mind for anything useful. Maybe I would remember something that wasn't terrifying. There were the memories I had from the changing, but they felt warped and twisted. Still, however slim a chance there was I felt there was still hope for something good. Even though the whole process was super confusing. It was tiring. I mean, how was it possible for me to know what constellations were and...not even...

* * *

 **"Remind me again why your dumb ass couldn't just come up by yourself? Why are we up on the roof this late? It's freezing. I'm freezing. How are you not freezing?" A voice complained. I pointed at the sky.**

 **"I wanted to see...god, w-which one is it...it starts with a P?"**

 **"If you can't even remember the name why did you make me come up here?"**

 **"There's no c-cameras up here." I shrugged, putting my arm down. "No scientists, no n-needles. Besides, what was I gonna do if I got stuck here? Call someone and speak to them saying _excuse me, but I decided to go on the roof-you know, the one w-with the locked door that I made Thomas push open with a k-keycard-and I-_**

 **"Okay!" Thomas threw his hands up defensively. "Whatever. I get it. Do you remember where it is?"**

 **"What?"**

 **"The constellation you-"**

 **"Perseus! That one." I pointed at a set of stars.**

 **"Over here, Sammy." He corrected me, moving my arm. I scowled. "It's by Cassiopeia."**

 **"Well if it's over there, wh-what was I pointing at?"**

 **"Andromeda, I think?" Thomas frowned. We stared at the sky.**

 **"Wh-why do you know all of these, anyway?" I asked.**

 **"Sam reason as you. Needed to read something other than manuals." He joked. "It's not like they had anything good."**

 **"You still read it." I pointed out. He paused, then grinned.**

 **"Yeah." He chuckled.**

* * *

 **Newt p.o.v.**

I woke up in the middle of the night. Or early morning. Whatever the case, it was dark outside. I looked around for what had woken me up, then realized what had happened. Sam was gone. Sam couldn't be gone. I'd felt her, she's been here, she was awake. Frantically, I got out of bed and tripped almost immediately. I turned to curse the offending object, but stopped. I looked closer. Shoes. Girls shoes. I glanced at the edge of the mattress, where a thin blue shirt was hanging off the side.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't been another dream. Then I came back to the problem at hand. Sam was gone. I went outside and scanned the Glade. Though I doubted it would be too difficult to find her, it was still a troubling matter. Having not found her in the Medtent, I walked through the grass looking for Sam. As I inspected the area, I noticed a figure lying on the ground. Sam. I walked towards her. She wasn't hurt, was she? No. She was sleeping. Peacefully.

I stood there for a moment. Then I kneeled down and picked her up. I carried her bridal style back to our room and set her down gently in her bed. Best to let her have her space. Even though I'd very much like to do the opposite, I didn't want to risk waking her. I pulled the blanket over her, then went back to my cot. I lied down, facing Sam in case she woke up. Then, slowly, I drifted off again.

* * *

 **Sam POV**

My eyes blinked open. _Thomas_. I sat up and looked around, confused. Hadn't I...I woke up, didn't I? I remembered being outside. I remembered talking about stars. Maybe I had dreamed it. But I was in my cot, by myself.

I looked over. Newt's arm was hanging off the side of his mattress, his blonde hair was a ruffled mess. It was kind of adorable. Then he groaned and his eyes blinked open. He squinted and rolled over, then promptly fell off the side of the bed, taking his blanket down with him. I cringed as he landed with a thud. I moved down to help him.

"Morning." He groaned. I bit my lip.

"A-Are you ok-okay?" I managed. He nodded, then winced and rubbed the back of his head.

"Lovely." Newt muttered. I stood and held out a hand. He took it and I pulled him up. The two of us sat down on his cot after he threw his blanket back.

"D-did you s-s-sleep o-k?" I asked. He seemed conflicted. After a moment, he replied.

"Well...not especially, but it's not really your...it's alright." He assured me. I frowned.

"Are you sure?" I checked. He nodded.

"Come on, love." Newt stood, offering a hand. He pulled me up, then pulled me in for a kiss. "Let's get you some breakfast."

* * *

 **Newt POV**

I watched as Sam bit into her apple.

"You're sure you don't want anything else?" I asked, concerned. She shrugged and took another bite. I sighed.

"Henry, how much do you think she should be eating?" I asked. Henry, who was across the table, looked up from his breakfast.

"Sorry, man." He answered. "I'm not a professional. She's obviously gonna start small though, I wouldn't push it."

Sam stood from the table, kissed my cheek, then walked out towards the Gardens. None of us thought she was ready to be a Runner again. Not until she was at least getting a healthy amount of sleep. At the least. I frowned.

"Henry..." I started, glancing after her. I paused, unsure of how to continue. Henry shoved the last of his toast into his mouth, then sighed.

"Like I said, man. Not a professional." He repeated. "I don't even know how she's standing." I didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Logically, it's a miracle she's functioning at a level this normal." Jeff stated. I jumped. Jeff, who was suddenly sitting next to me, snorted.

"Bloody-how long have you been there?" I questioned, surprised.

"Like two seconds." He answered. "And you might want to be quieter, I came over cause I could hear what you were talking about." I cringed.

"Really?" I looked around, feeling guilty. If I wanted to know what was going on with Sam, I should just ask her. Jeff shook his head.

"She's gone." He said. "And like I was saying, I have no idea why she isn't a vegetable."

"Um...what?" I managed.

"I mean, if you think about it, it doesn't make sense. She was basically in a coma for like four months, we should be...I don't know, studying her or something." He cringed, hearing himself. "That sounds bad, but something's...off. How she's eating, how she's talking, why the changing was different for her-and don't say because she's a girl, because that doesn't make sense either. We should be asking more questions."

"Like what, why she's so weird?" Henry said. "Yeah, that'll go well."

"That's not what I mean." Jeff said. I glanced around and saw Gally walk through the doors. Jeff saw where I was looking and waved him over. I groaned. This isn't something we should be doing. Not without her. And not with Gally.

"What?" Gally asked gruffly.

"Look, you were there when Sam...woke up, right?" Jeff asked. Gally raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? So?" He sighed.

"Did you think she was acting strange or anything like that when she woke up?" Henry asked him. Gally gave him a weird look.

"I think you guys let her off easy." He said. I frowned, confused. He went on. "When I woke up from the Changing you shucks practically interrogated me 24-7 for a week. I mean, I know she was basically in a coma, but don't you think you should be asking her what she remembered? All you shanks have been doing is staring at her like she'll break if you breath on her weird. Not that I care, but it's probably creeping her out."

He paused. "Are we done here?"

"Uh, yeah thanks." I muttered. He made a sort of non-committal noise and walked away. And we still didn't have any answers.


	28. Chapter 28

**Sam POV**

I walked in for dinner to find almost everyone crowded around one of the tables.

"Look, I'm making an effort!" I heard Newt call out. "But if anyone else wants to give it a go, I'll step down!"

I pushed through, ignoring the grumbling I got as I moved to the front. Newt was sitting at a table with Alby and Henry. All three of them (and everyone else) were huddled around what looked like a hunk of metal and a mess of tools. I tapped Newt on the shoulder and he looked up at me.

"Glad to see you've joined us, love." He said in greeting.

"W-What is th-that?" I asked quietly.

"It's a radio. We think." Henry answered. "But no one can get it to work."

"W-where'd you f-find it?" I managed. I could feel a number of the others watching me. I bit my lip and focused on the radio.

"Newt found it in one of those crates we got but it ain't workin." Alby told me. "So unless you know how to fix it princess...you listening to me?"

I nodded, but sat down next Newt and leaned towards him and looked at the radio. Alby looked over, suspicious.

"What're you on about, shank?" He questioned. Again, the feeling that I was being stared at by everyone in existence was practically swallowing me. I glanced up, then almost immediately looked back at the radio again. Yup, everyone's looking. Thomas, who despite being the Greenie had gotten himself near the front, gave me a reassuring look. I pushed the switch from AM to FM.

Alby looked at me cautiously, then leaned forward and flipped the switch to turn the radio on. Nothing happened. I rolled my eyes and turned the volume dial. Music came from the radio. Tinny and staticky, but it was working.

An upbeat orchestra of violins flooded from the tinny speakers. Silence fell over the room. Then a cheer went up from the surrounding Gladers. I frowned. The tune sounded familiar, but I couldn't name it. Newt and Henry looked at me curiously, an expression vastly different from the one on Alby's face.

"How'd you know to do that?" Henry asked. Then everyone stopped as words started flowing with the music.

 _Come on Eileen_

 _Oh, I swear what he means_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Take off everything_

Another cheer went up. Yeah it had words, but it might only play this one song. We'd all get sick of it eventually. Then again, they might've been cheering because the song sounded like it was about sex. They were teenage boys, after all.

 _That pretty red dress_

 _Eileen (tell him yes)_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Aah, come on Eileen_

I glanced back at Thomas. He seemed to be in a trance, like he had totally checked out or something. I made a mental note to ask him about it later. And now that I was hearing the lyrics that went with the song it seemed even more familiar.

 _That pretty red dress_

 _Eileen (tell him yes)_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Aah, come on Eileen_

"Sam." Alby said sharply. I blinked, then looked back at him. The scowl dominating his features made me wish I hadn't made eye contact. I bit my lip and looked away and into the slowly dispersing crowd. Thomas had snapped out of it and was giving me a funny look. I frowned at him, confused.

"How did you know how to fix it?" Alby demanded. I looked back to Alby. Uncomfortable, I shrugged. I flipped a switch. Clearly they had taken what they thought was the _manly_ approach, by trying and failing to reverse engineer the thing. Newt seeing I was nervous, took my hand.

"She made it work, Alby." He defended. "That's a right lot more than we managed."

Only because you didn't have a strategy when you started taking things apart.

 _Come on Eileen, too-loo-rye-aye_

 _Come on Eileen, too-loo-rye-aye_

 _Now you're full grown_

 _Now you have shown_

 _Oh, Eileen_

Henry shifted, clearly uncomfortable with standing between the three of us. Most of the others had lined up for their meal, the initial excitement having worn off. It was obvious they were still eager at the prospect of having the music, but they were also starving teenagers. Henry edged out of his seat and got in the line for dinner.

"I'm just asking her a question." Alby maintained.

"I-I...I j-just..." I attempted. Newt glared at him.

 _Say, come on Eileen_

 _These things they are real and I know_

 _How you feel_

 _Now I must say more than ever_

 _Things round here have changed_

"If she doesn't know, she doesn't know." Newt told him. He squeezed my shoulders. "Come on love, why don't we get you some dinner?"

* * *

 **Newt POV**

Sam ate quietly. Same as usual truthfully, but I've been trying to help her talk more. Since she doesn't like the way she sounds, I thought practicing would help. It hasn't. Not to mention Alby put her on edge. I love the bloke, but he's not always what I'd call...approachable.

Thomas glanced over at the radio. A new song was playing, the lyrics blasting. After we realized it played more than one song, the volume had been turned up so everyone could hear the music over the clanking and clattering of dinner.

 _'Cause it was the heat of the moment_

 _Telling me what your heart meant_

 _The heat of the moment shone in your eyes…_

"Do you think the songs'll start repeating? Eventually?" Thomas asked. He watched the radio suspiciously.

"It's a radio, Tommy." I chuckled. "I think we're safe."

" _Newt's right_." Sam agreed. She was still working on her voice and she was in the middle of chewing. _"I mean, what-"_

"Is that your sign for Newt?" Thomas asked. Sam froze. I looked over at her, concerned. Thomas looked confused, then he grinned. Before, Sam had made signs for names so she didn't have to keep spelling them out, the first letter with another word. Minho was M-run. I wanted it to be M-shank, but she didn't know the word for it. Or, rather, she wouldn't do it. No matter how much I tried to convince her.

"Is it?" Thomas grinned. Sam looked glanced between me and Thomas.

"Um..." She cringed. I raised an eyebrow. I didn't know the word she'd put after my name. I hadn't bothered to ask what it was, but now I was curious. Thomas laughed.

"Awwww." He smirked. "That's adorable."

"What? Why? What is it?" I asked. They ignored me.

"Sh-shut up." She scowled at him. Sam looked away and stabbed her dinner with her fork.

"Anyway..." I glanced at Sam suspiciously; she was blushing and hadn't looked up from her dinner. "It's good music, I don't think we need to be looking for some kind of catch in every little thing. I'm sure it's fine."


	29. Chapter 29

_**Flashback**_

I was in a bland, hospital-clean room with sets of bunk beds lining the walls. Besides a few books or the occasional pair of socks, the room didn't have many personal touches. Or, personal belongings, rather. I looked over to see Newt leaning against the wall behind the bed we were sitting on. It was small, and his legs hung over the edge, dangling above the lower bunk.

"Getting back on topic, it's bloody dull around here." Newt declared, looking over at me. "There ought to be at least some sort of entertainment."

" _If we're lucky, we'll die of boredom before we even get sent up._ " I stated. Newt frowned.

"Well...I suppose you've got more time to think about it than I do." He said grimly. I bit my lip.

" _I'm sorry, I_ -"

"No, it's...it's fine." He looked away, then plastered a smile onto his face.

"Die of boredom, you said?" Newt grinned. I shrugged. "No, there's got to be something around here that'll save us."

Newt lightly jumped down from the top bunk. He crossed the room and opened the top drawer of a side table next to one of the other bunk beds. I didn't want to move. I kicked the metal railing of the bed. There was a ringing noise that bounced around the room. He turned to look at me.

" _Whose is that_?" I asked.

"Whose drawer is this?" He checked. I nodded. "I've gotten better, haven't I?" He said smugly. I rolled my eyes at his expression.

"Oh come on, I'm almost fluent." He said. Then his smile faltered, and I could tell what he was thinking. In a week he wouldn't remember any of it.

" _Whose is it_?" I repeated. Newt seemed to be considering something. Then he answered.

"We moved everyone's stuff around the other day, this over here is Tommy's now. Seems like they fancy the two of you, I thought they might've given him something to pass the time. You won't tell him, will you?" Newt worried. I shook my head.

He grinned and opened the second drawer. Clothes again. He reached his hand back behind the stack of t-shirts. Then, grinning wider, he pulled his hand out of the drawer, holding what looked like a small metal box.

" _Is that a radio_?" I signed. He didn't see.

"It's a radio." Newt said. He walked back over and pushed himself up onto the top bunk again. Why he ignored the ladder was beyond me. Newt started fiddling with the radio, examining it.

" _He doesn't use it_?" I asked him, tapping him on the shoulder. Why wouldn't Thomas have mentioned it? To me, at least.

"No, he's never used it." Newt confirmed. "Maybe it doesn't work."

I sat next to him on Thomas' bed, the lower bunk, then reached over and closed the drawer. He turned it over, then pressed a button on the side. Nothing happened. He sighed.

" _Try the other channel. The a-m one_." Newt turned the volume knob and flipped a switch on the front of the radio. Music came from the speakers.

 _But not us (no, never)_

 _No, not us (no, never)_

" _It works! I love this song_." I smiled.

"Song? What, you can remember that? You know what song it is already?" Newt asked. I nodded.

" _Come on E-i-l-e-e-n_."

 _We are far too young and clever_

 _Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye_

"Well, if you love it so much," Newt decided "why don't we dance?" He hopped off the bed and gave a sweeping bow, holding out his hand. I grinned, taking it and sliding off the top bunk.

 _And you'll hum this tune forever_

He took my other hand, leading me towards the center of the room.

 _Come on Eileen_

 _Oh, I swear what he means_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Take off everything_

 _That pretty red dress_

 _Eileen (tell him yes)_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Aah, come on Eileen_

He took my hand and spun me around. I laughed. Then he slowed.

 _That pretty red dress_

 _Eileen (tell him yes)_

 _Aah, come on let's_

 _Aah, come on Eileen_

 _Something wrong_? I mouthed, confused.

 _Say, come on Eileen_

 _These things they are real and I know_

 _How you feel_

"No, love." Newt said softly. "I just...you look lovely when you're laughing." He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

 _Now I must say more than ever_

 _Things round here have changed_

 _I say, too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye-aye_

I smiled in response. Then Newt leaned down and kissed me, gently pressing his lips against mine.

 _Come on Eileen_

 _Oh, I swear (what he means)_

 _At this moment, you mean everything_

For a moment, I didn't react. Then I pulled him closer, gripping his shirt collar to deepen the kiss.

 _Aah, come on Eileen  
_

 _Oh, I swear (what he means)_

 _At this moment, you mean everything_

The song was almost over. He moved away. He stared at me, like he couldn't believe he's just done that.

"I had to do that." He breathed. "At least once." He watched me carefully. Like he couldn't believe I'd really kissed him back.

"Before I-" I pulled him down for another kiss. I could feel him smiling. He lifted my legs until they were even with his hips.

 _You in that dress, my thoughts I confess_

 _Well, they're dirty_

 _Come on Eileen_

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice came from the doorway. I froze. Newt SEyes me down on the side table, the drawer that had had the radio in it was still open.

"Look, Tommy, it's-" Newt tried.

 _Come on Eileen_

* * *

 **Sam POV**

My eyes fluttered open. For a moment I thought I could still hear the song.

I had been dreaming. But it hadn't felt like a dream. The images and emotions seemed to real for it to be imaginary. I hadn't told anyone, but I seemed to be remembering a lot of things lately. Thomas, he had remembered the song too. His face when it started playing...but I had to be sure.

I stood and walked out. I must have slept late, Newt was nowhere to be seen. The Homestead was filled with people and sounds. Cheery, chattering voices; clanking silverware scraping against plates. I caught sight of Thomas then went up and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, surprised.

"What's up, Sam?" Thomas responded. I bit my lip.

" _Can I talk to you for a second_?" I asked him. My lips barely moved as I signed. Quiet. He looked confused, but he nodded.

"Yeah, sure." He replied. I moved to leave, then noticed he wasn't following me.

"O-Outside." I specified.

"Oh, okay." Thomas followed me out, leaving behind confused glances from the rest of his table. I stopped once we were out of range.

"What is it?" He questioned. I frowned, unsure of where to start.

" _Yesterday, when-when that song was playing. It looked like you..did you...okay, this is going to sound weird but_ -"

"You want to know if I remembered something." Thomas stated. I blinked, surprised. Then I nodded.

"If it was triggered by that song, then you probably remembered the same thing." He surmised.

" _All I remembered was that song playing while I was...in a room. Like a hospital or something..._ " I bit my lip, trailing off. If he had the same memory then he knew, but I didn't want to say it in case he didn't. I don't know why. "... _and then you came in. At least, I think it was you. I just heard "Thomas" and then I woke up. What did you remember_?"

Thomas looked uncomfortable. I frowned. Did the song make him think of something else?

"The second half of that, I think. What happened after I came in." He says slowly. Oh. Well maybe he...wait.

" _You seemed mad_." I started cautiously. " _From what I got, anyway. It wasn't because we were a...we were..._ "

Suddenly, Thomas looked uncomfortable.

"Wait, you think-no. Definitely not." He responded, cringing. I tried not to look offended, but he read my expression. Thomas bit his lip.

"I mean, not that you're not...attractive...physically...I mean, I just...let's just...never mind." He scrambled. I stared at him. Thomas groaned.

"Look, it's not that you're not-I just-from the, from my end of the-of the dream...thing...no. Just...new information has come to light, and I...no." He managed.

"Ok-kay then." I replied. Yes, I've decided I'm definitely offended.

"You know what? What I remembered isn't really of any-"

"Hey Thomas, can I have your eggs?" Minho came up to him. "That stuff's klunk when it's cold."

"Uh, sure. I'll be back in a second." Thomas answered him.

"Thanks, man." Minho went and sat back down. Thomas looked at me.

"That guy eats a lot, doesn't he?" He said. I grinned. Thomas smiled fondly, like he was remembering something.

" _So...you don't think you should tell me what you remembered_?" I kept signing in case Minho was still in earshot. I watched Thomas carefully for his response. His reaction.

"I will." He stated. "At some point."

I huffed. Minho was right though, breakfast probably was getting cold.

"If you wanna be like that, I'll let you figure it out yourself." He smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Like that. Right there."

" _Whatever. You still hungry_?" I asked.

"Dude. Yes." Thomas agreed. The two of us headed back towards the food.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: I've been trying to update for weeks but I kept getting an error message every time I tried. Here's to me finally having the sense to try using a different browser! Special thanks to** MazeGirl (Guest) **(Sorry it took longer) (Also sorry if there's mistakes, I wanted to get it up as soon as I fixed the issue I was having with the submission)**

* * *

 **3rd person POV**

"I had to do that." He breathed. "At least once." He watched her carefully.

"But I know you were just-" Then Sam moved her up to his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. His hands moved as well, lifting her legs until they were even with his hips.

 _You in that dress, my thoughts I confess_

 _Well, they're dirty_

 _Come on Eileen_

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice came from the doorway. They froze. Newt backed away almost immediately.

 _Come on Eileen_

 _Oh, I swear (what he means)_

 _At this moment, you mean everything_

"Look, Tommy, it's-" Newt tried.

 _You in that dress, my thoughts I confess_

"What are you gonna say, it's not what it looks like?" Thomas remarked angrily. "Because it looks like my best friend is screwing my little sister. You want to explain that?"

 _Come on Eileen..._

The music faded out. Sam turned off the radio before the next song came on, then glared at Thomas.

" _We're the same age_." She snapped.

"You are younger by two minutes and I'm taller which _also_ makes you my little sister, and I wasn't asking you." Thomas said. Sam frowned, biting her lip. "Newt, I'm asking you a question. What the hell made you think you could do that?"

"It's not as though we were doing anything wrong." Newt answered indignantly. "And me aside, Sam is perfectly capable of making her own choices. You're acting as if I...I mean, she..." Newt looked at Sam, unsure of what to say. Sam glanced at Thomas, then took Newt's hand in hers. Thomas was still scowling.

The radio started up again.

 _V is very, very extraordinary_

Thomas glared at the radio. Boy, if looks could kill...that radio would be on fire. Sam let go of Newt's hand as she reached to turn it off again.

 _E is even more than anyone that you adore can_

As she turned, she knocked it over. She reached to grab it before it hit the ground but almost fell off the table in the process.

 _Love is all that I can give to you_

At least, she would have if Newt hadn't caught her. Newt, Thomas noticed, who looked incredibly worried over something as simple as her falling over. Newt who was looking at her like he never wanted to look at anything else. Sam watched as the radio bounced on the ground and the music was cut off. Thomas softened, watching as Newt pulled her back onto the table.

"Are you okay?" Thomas watched Sam for a response. She nodded. Newt let go of Sam.

"Look, mate." Newt started. He glanced at Sam, lingering on her before turning his attention back to Thomas. "If you don't...if you won't have it, then I won't-"

"No." Thomas said. "You know what? I...it's fine. You'll take care of her. Just...be careful, Newt."

Sam grinned and stood up, giving Thomas a hug. Newt watched their exchange, relieved Thomas had relaxed on the matter.

"I will." Newt promised. Thomas was still frowning.

"You hurt her and you're dead to me." Thomas threatened. "Understand?" Sam glared and moved to let go of him but he pulled her in and tried to ruffle her hair. She ducked away from his hand and smoothed back her hair. Thomas smiled at her. Newt nodded.

"Alright, I'm...whatever. I came in because they put out lunch and that's where everyone else went. I thought you'd be hungry." Thomas looked between the two of us. "For lunch. Come eat, I'm not leaving you two in here. And if you start kissing in front of me again, I will throw up." He left the room, clearly expecting them to follow.

Newt looked at Sam, grinning. She smiled back.

"It's a bloody good thing he stopped me." Newt chuckled softly. "I was just going to say I won't kiss you in front of him."

Sam laughed. Newt leaned towards her.

"Stop it! You'd better be coming!" Thomas called. Newt sobered, then he and Sam followed Thomas out the door.

"You're coming, right? Sam!"

* * *

 **Sam POV**

Thomas was staring at me. I waved my hand in front of his face. Newt frowned.

"Hello?" Newt snapped his fingers. "You alright there, Tommy?" Thomas jolted out of it.

"What?" He managed. "Did you...what did you say?"

"I asked what you two were talking about," Newt was looking at him strangely, "but if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Just maybe don't avoid the question by staring at my girlfriend." His tone was light. His eyes weren't. Thomas looked from me to Newt.

"I...I just zoned out. Sorry." He managed.

"Greenie!" Gally called from the front of the Homestead. "You're with Builders today." Gally looked over at me and sighed. "You too, sweetheart." I stared at him, then looked at Newt.

"Why?" I managed. What on earth had done to get the Greenie treatment? I had a job...being a Runner. Where they making me get a new one? What was wrong. Newt, who I'm sure could tell I was spiraling, put his hand on my knee.

"You're not ready to back yet." He said quietly. "You're just babysitting because you're the only person that likes him." I frowned.

"Well, the only one that was available." He amended. "Same thing." I glared at him. There was nothing wrong with Thomas, but the nature of the job was demeaning. He didn't seem to see it, but I did. I had been demoted.

"I'm not gonna wait all day, shanks." Gally called. I groaned and got up. Thomas followed me to Gally. Gally looked at me.

"You don't look happy." He smirked. I rolled my eyes. He scowled. I scowled back.

"What are we doing today?" Thomas asked. Clearly the ability to read a room wasn't one of the things he'd remembered. Gally looked at him with distaste.

"You'd know if you'd shut up and pay attention for once." He marched out. Thomas and I scrambled to follow him.

"I just don't get why you don't like me." Thomas finally said. "You seem to really hate me, what did I do to you?" Gally stopped. I winced and glanced around. We were halfway between the Builders and the Homestead. No witnesses. He turned.

"I don't have time for this, you need-"

"No, tell me what I did! Because you really seem to hate me and I don't understand." Thomas insisted. "Sam too, but I figured you were just a sexist asshole." I hit his arm and he looked at me.

" _Don't bring me into this_." I scowled. "I-I'm not-"

"That." Gally said. I stopped. What? Gally looked intensely at me. This wasn't hate from nowhere, there was definite reason behind it. And I wanted to melt into the ground to get away from his staring.

"I've been through the Changing too, Sam." Gally said. "I've seen things." He looked between me and Thomas. "Things like the two of you."

"Th-That's ridic-"

"Stop!" He snarled. I flinched and stepped back. Thomas stepped forward slightly.

"Stop...talking." Gally suddenly looked upset. It was unsettling.

"Just...go get wood from the Deadheads, we're low after yesterday's project." He managed.

"I-"

"Leave!" Gally stormed off, leaving Thomas and I standing in the middle of the field.

"We're gonna find any decent wood for what he wants in here, it's all dead." Thomas said. I gave him a pointed look.

"Right. Deadheads." He said. Finding out had been horrifying, I wasn't about to tell Thomas the real reason when it was only his...second day? I wasn't sure how long he'd been here. There were sounds like animals hiding in the forest. Birds rustling, squirrels snapping twigs. But there weren't any animals.

Thomas walked ahead of me as I struggled to keep up with his pace. His anger at Gally wasn't helping anyone, especially my comparatively short legs.

" _You should_ -" I stopped, realizing he couldn't see me. I sighed. Suddenly Thomas stopped walking.

"I st-still think you-"

"Shut up." Thomas cut me off. Rude.

"H-hey-" I started. He covered my mouth with his hand.

"Seriously, shut up." He said quietly. I moved his hand.

" _What is your problem_?" I signed, scowling at him. Thomas glanced over his shoulder and around the area.

" _I swear I just heard something_." He signed. For a moment I was surprised. No one else had ever spoken to me in sign language before. I frowned.

" _What, you mean us? It's nothing_." I responded. Thomas glared.

" _I'm serious, we should go back before we get_ -" He stopped. Because right then both of us heard something snap. And neither of us were moving.

" _Did you hear that_?" I asked. He nodded. Gesturing for me to follow, Thomas slowly started backing away towards the direction of the edge of the Deadheads.

Suddenly, someone flung themselves from the trees. We stumbled back, shocked. Shocked for different reasons most likely. Thomas was probably scared for his life. Or scarred for life.

Me...it was Ben. And he was a terrifying zombie.

* * *

 **AN: I feel like it's confusing, so just to be clear at this point only Thomas knows what's up with him and Sam. The first part was what _he_ remembered. Hope you liked it!**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: Sorry it took longer than I expected, but this is my favorite chapter that I've written so far! I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Ben was thinner, gaunter, his breathing loud and labored. His sweat had matted his hair to his forehead. Ben's eyes darted between me and Thomas.

"B-Ben?" I managed. Ben took a small step closer. Thomas tensed up and took a step closer as well, placing himself almost between me and Ben. At the moment, I didn't question it. Mostly because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

This couldn't be Ben. This couldn't have been where the screaming had been coming from. Ben wouldn't...he...but I hadn't really seen him since I woke up. It was Ben. And Ben had gotten worse. Much worse. Why hadn't this happened to me? Was that still a possibility?

Ben stepped closer and Thomas and I carefully took a small step back. Ben seemed cautious, like a wild animal approaching humans.

"How...how're you feeling, Ben?" Thomas asked. Ben reacted instantly and started snarling at Thomas, dripping blood and saliva. I felt like crying and screaming. I wanted to remember my version of Ben. The one who wasn't looking at me like I was-

"Shut up!" Ben growled. I watched anger and rage take over his already wild eyes. I didn't want to look at him, but I couldn't bring myself not to. Veins bulged, a stark contrast against the pale skin stretched over his frame.

"B-Ben, j-j-j-just-" I tried. I felt like I was going to start hyperventilating. Thomas reached back and placed his hand on my shoulder for a moment. I stopped talking, trying to control my breathing. My chest felt tight.

"Shhhh." He whispered, keeping his eyes on Ben. I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me. Ben looked between me and Thomas, a wild curiosity now etched into his features. He looked like a monster circling its prey. Ready for the kill. A kill no one would hear because we were in the middle of the woods. Ben scowled, his teeth clenched together.

"He's...bad." Ben said slowly. Thomas and I took another step back. Seeing this, Ben advanced again.

"Bad!" He roared.

"Wh-wh-who's b-"

"Him! HIM!" Ben screamed. He pulled out a knife and pointed it at Thomas's face. We stumbled back and Ben edged forward once more, his knife still trained on Thomas. We were going at this the wrong way, we had to calm him down. I stepped forward. Thomas looked at me like I was crazy and he held out his arm, stopping me from getting any closer. He shook his head.

No

"B-B-Ben. Ben it's ok-okay. T-T-T-Thomas is n-nice. H-h-he's a f-f-friend. Friend. Friend." I clenched my hands. I could feel my fingernails digging into the palms of my hands as I tried to form the words correctly.

"Don't come any closer!" Ben screamed, swinging his knife. We stepped back. Thomas still held his arm out in front of me. He was watching Ben carefully.

"You're just as bad! Bad blood! Bad, bad, bad..." Ben trailed off and his gaze fell to the ground, following an invisible trail. He continued muttering, his voice growing dangerously softer with every word.

"Look, Ben." Thomas started. "We don't want to hurt you. We also don't want you to hurt us. Ben, could you put down the-"

"Bad!" He screeched, snapping his head back up. Thomas made eye contact with me, his expression clear. Run.

 _On three_ he mouthed. _One_

Unfortunately, the changing hadn't made Ben a complete idiot. Seeing this plan, Ben lunged at Thomas and tackled him to the ground. I jumped back, but didn't have the sense to run away. Thomas thrashed as Ben pushed him down. Thomas was losing. Swallowing how terrified I was, I surged forward and yanked Ben off of him. Thomas scrambled to his feet and we ran. We ran, ducking under tree branches and dodging roots that had grown above the ground.

We grew closer to the edge of the deadheads, the light that filtered between the branches became brighter and more frequent. We were so close. Then I was slammed to the ground. I shrieked. There was a crack and felt rocks break my skin in at least three different places. Somehow, I managed to turn over and found Ben leering over me. Terrified, I tried to move away but he lunged and grabbed my arms, pinning them to my sides. That was combined with his full body weight crushing the life out of me as he moved himself to sit on my stomach, leaving no escape route.

I struggled to breathe. Ben grinned wildly, shifting to hold both my wrists above my head in his left hand. I could already tell it would bruise. Using his right, he took the knife and brushed a lock of hair from my face. I winced as he cut my skin in the process. He grinned viciously, seeming to take pleasure in my fear. I shivered. It's not Ben. Its not really him. It's not Ben.

Ben ran the blade of his knife along my jawline and I felt blood drip from the cut. Angling away from the blade, I tried to press myself into the ground. He drew his lips back into a snarl, his bloody teeth clenched together.

"Thomas is bad." Ben leaned closer, whispering through his teeth and into my ear. "Bad blood. Yours is bad."

"Ben. It's me. It's Sam. Please. It's Sam. Ben. Please. Stop. Ben." I pleaded, the speed at which I said the words blending them all together. With each word, my voice became faster and more frantic. He pulled away from my ear and twisted the knife until it was against my throat. My breathing hitched and I restrained myself from crying out. In the state he would in, it was sure to only make him angrier. Where was Thomas. Thomas. Thomas.

"Thomas is bad." Ben said. The blade slipped down and I felt the skin on my neck slice open. This isn't Ben. This isn't Ben. This isn't Ben.

"I'm not Thomas. Ben. Please. It's Sam. I'm not Thomas. Ben. I-"

"Shut up!" He screamed in my face. I choked back a sob. I could feel blood, sweat, and dirt mixing together on my skin. It's not him. He doesn't know what he's doing. It's not him.

"Bad blood. It's all bad. All of you are bad." Ben muttered, his eyes wild with fury.

"Who-"

"Sam is bad." He grinned wolfishly.

"Ben!" A voice rang out through the trees. Ben whipped his head toward the sound of Alby's voice. I didn't dare take my eyes off Ben. I didn't dare move.

"Let her go or you ain't seeing tomorrow!" Alby commanded. Ben snarled, his teeth bared in a disturbing grimace.

"I'm giving you a count of three. One!" Alby shouted. His voice sounded closer. Ben's head whipped frantically between me and the direction of Alby's voice.

"Two!"

Ben grinned at me like a psycho, pushing the blade to dig further underneath my skin as he leaned forward. I could feel his hot breath next to my ear. I whimpered as I tried to edge away.

"Wicked is bad." Ben whispered sharply through his teeth. He reared back, knife in hand.

"Three!"

There was a split second filled with the sound of something flying through the air, then came a sickening thunk as the arrow buried itself in the side of Ben's head. There was a horrible moment where nothing happened. Ben stared at me, the arrow lodged in his head.

He dropped the knife, and it fell onto my chest. My breathing hitched as the knife slid to rest against my throat. Then he crashed to the ground. He was off me. He was gone. The weight on my chest was still there. I couldn't find it in myself to move. My eyes were clenched shut. I could feel my nails digging into my skin.

I heard different sets of footsteps rushing over. Relax. Relax. Relax. Thomas. Relax. I opened my eyes. Alby, Newt, and Thomas stood over me. I swallowed, trying to slow down my breathing. The three of them kneeled down. I flinched as Alby leaned down and took the knife, examining it before standing back up and tucking it into his belt. Thomas looked at me, concerned.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm really sorry, but I knew I wouldn't be able to help and I just tried to..." Thomas stopped. "Sam?" He asked, worried. Slowly, I sat up and looked over at Ben.

 _"You're just as bad! Bad blood! Bad, bad, bad..." He continued muttering, his voice growing dangerously softer with every word._

"Sam."

His eyes were glazed over. His fingers twitched.

 _Sam is bad._

"I-" I managed. I felt like I was going to be sick. The edges of my vision were blurry. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't focus.

"Sam, I want you to look at me, okay?" Thomas said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I'm gonna count to ten, I want you to count with me, okay? One."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Newt staring at me, visibly and hopelessly upset.

"You don't have to say it, just mouth the numbers for me. Two. We're just counting, that's all we're doing. Three. Four. Five. Focus on your breathing. Six. Seven. Eight. You're okay, I promise. Nine. Ten." Thomas watched me as I started to mouth the numbers with him. Order. Control. Order. Newt. Order.

"Ten." I muttered. Convinced I had reverted to slightly more normal breathing patterns, Thomas let go of my shoulders and moved back slightly. Newt watched us carefully, cautiously observing.

I looked away and turned towards the others. Newt moved closer and I let him wrap his arms around me. He ran a hand through my hair. My mind jumped to Ben doing the same thing with his knife. My breathing hitched as I fought the urge to start sobbing. I couldn't. Not in front anyone. Especially not in front of them.

"We'll send Baggers for him in the morning." Alby said, seeming surprisingly indifferent. "Do your legs work?" Taking a deep breath, I pulled away from Newt slightly and looked at Alby. I nodded.

"Let's get you to the MedJacks"


End file.
